New Blood in A New Hope
by Michael Weyer
Summary: At the end of season 4's Doomed, Buffy, Willow and Xander are sent to seperate places in a galaxy far, far away...Xover with Star Wars Episode IV. COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer owned by Ten Mutant Productions

Star Wars owned by Lucasfilm

Some situations and dialogue taken from the Star Wars radio dramatizations by the late Brian Daley.

**No, I'm not giving up on Slayers of the Old Republic. But, I'm frankly amazed that no one else has done this approach to a Buffy/SW crossover and with the release of the original trilogy on DVD and the fact A New Hope is my favorite film of all time, I felt this boil in my brain and decided to share it. **

**As you can tell, this begins with Season Four's "Doomed." Buffy and Riley are a couple but just found out the others' secret, Willow has yet to get with Tara and Xander is with Anya. So onto the fun, all comments welcomed.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Looking back, none of them were quite certain what really happened. Spike was too busy reveling in punching demons, able to dish out pain again. Buffy was fighting one demon, Xander trying to handle the other as Willow raced through her mind to figure out some way to stop the chaos about to unfold.

She had been learning some new spellwork, thanks to her friendship with Tara but hadn't had as much time to practice them out. However, given the circumstances, she thought it was time to break out one in particular.

Willow knew teleportation spells were tricky, especially in an area of high magic. But she couldn't see much other option given what was happening. She closed her eyes, bringing up what power she could, trying to focus on the demons and thinking of a place where they could be sent before entering the Hellmouth.

She was just about to finish when one of the demons broke away from Xander and raced to the Hellmouth. He leapt in and with a howl, the portal took him. As it did, a massive burst of mystic power raced outward. It struck Willow just as she was completing the spell. She knew what was happening, she knew what was about to happen but it was far too late to do anything to stop it.

There was a loud burst of light that filled the room. At the corner, Spike howled and put up his hands to block the glare as he fell away. He heard a series of loud screams coming somewhere from that dome of light. A couple were not human, a couple were voices he knew well.

As soon as it had come, the light faded. As his eyes cleared, Spike could see the area around the Hellmouth completely bare. He absently snapped the neck of the demon as he came closer, his senses alert. He didn't smell or see any signs of Buffy, Xander or Willow.

The vampire stared at the empty space, unsure of what to feel. On the one hand, having the damn Slayer and her buddies gone filled his undead heart with joy but…for some strange reason…he felt almost sad.

He shook his head and began to walk off. No need to wallow in pity. He figured he might as well put some distance between this town as he could. Once the damn Watcher found out what happened, he just knew he'd get the blame for it. Best to head as far, far away as possible when that happened.

_Too bad, Slayer. You were quite the number. You probably deserved to go out better. But, ah well, fate is fate. I'll raise a pint to you later._

He headed off, unaware of what the three humans were going to next.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

She noticed the heat first. It was hard to miss. Oppressive, almost choking, dusty to boot. She moaned as she felt her arms and legs, making sure nothing was broken. She opened her eyes and looked up, trying to focus on the sun…

No. _Suns. Plural._

Buffy winced as she slowly sat up, rubbing her head. She started to get to her feet as she glanced around, trying to figure out her surroundings. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the incredibly bright light all around. Once they did, all she could see in all directions was sand, sand, the occasional rock and more sand.

"Great," she muttered. "A desert hell. I just had to land in a desert hell. An island would have been fine. Grassland would have ruled. But noooo, I had to get a desert."

She brushed at her clothes as she looked around, realizing she was alone. "Xander? Willow?" she called out, her voice echoing along the plains. "Hello? You guys here?"

She started to walk forward, her eyes scanning the horizon. She had no signs of civilization around here in any direction. She did her best to handle the sandy terrain, glad she at least been wearing comfortable shoes. She stripped off her jacket and tied it around her waist but it did little good. She had barely gone twenty yards before her entire shirt was stained and clinging to her body.

Buffy judged she'd been walking for the better part of a half hour when she heard a noise from the distance. She turned, her eyes peering at the glare as she saw something coming toward her. The noise grew louder, apparently a motor of some sort. Buffy threw her hands up and waved as she called out from a parched throat. "Hey! Hey, over here!"

She could see the shape form as it came closer. It looked like a vehicle of some sort, sort of like a car but she couldn't see the wheels. It was brown, the front oval shaped with large bubble windshields. Two large engines were set at the rear with a third rising up from where the rear seats were.

It took Buffy a moment to realize that the thing was hovering a few feet off the desert floor. That, combined with the twin suns overhead was enough to convince her she was no longer on her world. Those questions were brushed aside when she saw the vehicle's driver.

He looked to be only a couple of years older than her with light blond hair and handsome features. He was clad in a white tunic of some sort with white pants and shoes that looked like they were a combination of slippers and bandages. He looked her over with bright blue eyes as he spoke. "Hi. You get lost?"

"To say the least," Buffy said. She looked around. "I was trying to find a town of some sort but no luck."

"Nearest one is a long way off," the young man nodded in reply. "What happened to you, anyway? Your ship crashed?"

"Crashed?" Buffy asked while her mind was working on the word _ship._ "Um, yeah, that's the best way to say it. I crashed here." She looked around. "Come to think of it, I'm not even sure where 'here' is."

The man snorted. "Well, if there's a bright spot in the center of the universe, you're on the planet it's furthest from. Tatooine." He looked her over and then moved some sort of canister off of the seat next to him. "Hey, how about you get in? My aunt and uncle's farm isn't too far off, you can stay with us for tonight."

Buffy hesitated. On the one hand, trusting in a stranger in what she was starting to suspect was a strange planet was a bit of a leap. Then again, her only other option was wandering around this desert for who knows how long. Given the options she slid into the empty seat. "My name's Buffy Summers, by the way."

The young man nodded as he started up the motor of the speeder. "I'm Luke Skywalker. Don't worry, we'll get you settled without much trouble." He moved the controls and the speeder took off into the desert, Buffy letting a yelp at its sudden speed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The rush of water was the first thing Willow heard as she woke up. She closed her eyes and grimaced as she slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position. She rubbed her head and looked around. She appeared to be by a large waterfall and a green field next to it. The air was clear, much clearer than California and a light breeze was blowing.

_Either I'm in another dimension or this is the Promised Land_ she thought to herself as she got to her feet. She brushed at her clothes and looked around. She stopped in place as she saw a huge palace in the distance. Its architecture was most decidedly not of Earth, large buildings rising up on platforms and she could see some sort of speeders zipping about them.

"Okay, it's freaking time," Willow whimpered softly.

"Hello?"

Willow let out a yelp and spun around. She clutched at her chest as she saw the woman standing before her. She was quite beautiful, clad in a long white dress, her brown hair done up in a loose ponytail. Something about her, her bearing, the way she carried herself, made Willow instantly like and yet be intimidated by at the same time.

"Um, hi," Willow said. "I really, really hope you're friendly cause I would feel really, really bugged if you weren't cause I'm having a bad day already and know I really don't know where I am and-----"

"Wait, wait, calm down," the woman said, clutching her arms. "Calm down, okay? No one's going to hurt you. We're a planet of peace."

Willow stared at her. "Um…planet? You said…planet of peace?" She shook her head. "Okay, definitely not on Earth then."

"Are you okay?" The woman looked at Willow's clothes, obviously not having seen their like before. "Are you here alone?"

Willow's eyes widened as she realized that there was no sign of Xander or Buffy around. "Oh my God, my friends! They were with me and now they're not and----"

"All right, calm down," the woman broke in. "Listen, let me take you to the palace and we can get you cleaned up and then send out a search party for your friends, all right?"

Willow looked at the confident woman's face and nodded. "Okay. Thanks." She let the woman lead her down the path to the palace. "Um, my name's Willow, by the way. What's yours?"

The woman looked at her in surprise. "You must be new here." She smiled softly. "You can call me Leia for right now." Her smile turned different somehow, as if enjoying a private joke that Willow couldn't quite understand.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Pain was a rude wake-up call for Xander. He groaned out loud as he tried to get his bearings. He was aware of something large and hard underneath him and rather hoped it was just a table. He knew that when he opened his eyes, he was going to be in trouble. Sadly, his instincts were dead on.

He saw several faces staring down at him, only one human. The rest were a bizarre mix of fur, scales and large eyes, all glaring down at him in anger. "Um…hi," he began. "Sorry about the mess."

He managed to get to his feet, wincing hard as he rubbed his back. He looked around to see himself in some sort of bar, a seedy one by the looks of it. He realized there were several cards and coins lying around him and instantly realized he'd literally landed in the middle of a card game. "Yeah, so, sorry. Guess you'll have to start over. I'll just be------"

One creature with a walrus-like face went for something at his hip. His instincts kicking in, Xander turned and bolted toward the first exit, managing to duck out just before a blast of heat nearly singed his neck.

He looked around to see huge towers on all sides and a harsh smell coming from somewhere. "Oh, God, I've died and landed in _Blade Runner_."

Hearing the sounds of a brawl behind him, he quickly started to head as far away from the bar as he could. He had no idea what was going on but he was able to tell this was some sort of docking bay. He walked around, trying to find some sort of information booth of something to find out just where he was.

He was passing by some sort of hanger when he heard raised voices. Despite his inclination to keep going, something made him decide to poke his head in. Once he did, he was thrown by what he saw.

The hanger was dominated by a large half-spherical object that he guessed was a spaceship. Standing at a ramp at its bottom was a seven-foot tall creature that looked like the best version of Bigfoot Xander had ever seen. Next to him was a tall and handsome man who appeared to be in either late twenties or early thirties, wearing black pants and vest with a white shirt.

The two were facing several…beings, all heavily armed and led by a rather ugly-looking human in a dark fur coat of some sort. "This ain't what was promised, Bungee!" the man yelled, pointing at a chest at his feet.

The man shrugged and answered in a bizarre chittering language. The other man shook his head. "I don't care about that! I told you it's not our fault we lost the one crate! We made a deal, you're supposed to honor it!"

As Xander watched, one of the creatures in the gang was slowly moving a webbed hand toward the holster at his hip. The man and the gang leader were still arguing, the exchange getting heated. "Oh, you think it's fine to just cheat us like this?" the man called out.

The other one sniffed and let out a low chitter. "You're just going to keep the cash and the merchandise?" the older man translated. "I'd like to see you try."

When you live a couple of years on a Hellmouth, you get to acquire a sense of incoming danger. Xander could hear that alarm ringing as he saw the guy with the webbed hands pulling out his gun. Instinct took over as his hands closed on a small pipe nearby and hurled it outward.

The webbed man gasped as he dropped the blaster and a bolt of energy ripped out from it. Xander ducked just in time to avoid a series of energy bolts ripping over his head. He heard a new pair of guns join the fray and peeked his head around to see Bigfoot firing what looked like a crossbow laser gun while his partner let out several blasts from his own pistol. The leader of the aliens was already down with a smoking hole in his chest and two of his gang were joining him as the others tried to get away.

One of the aliens was hit in the chest and fell down, his gun falling out of his hands and sliding toward Xander. He stared at it in disbelief and looked up to see another alien coming from a door at the far side of the hanger, behind Bigfoot and the other man. "Duck!" he yelled as he grabbed the blaster and aimed it. Sincerely hoping he was holding it the right way, he pulled the trigger and a bolt of energy erupted out from the barrel.

Xander yelped as the recoil knocked him onto his back. He sat up and stared at the alien who stood there seemingly frozen. It took Xander a moment to see the large hole drilled into the being's forehead. It slumped to the ground and all was still.

The man and the furry creature both stared at it, then at Xander. "Nice shot," the man said with a cocky grin.

"Actually, I was aiming for his chest," Xander intoned. "Got lucky, I suppose."

"No such thing as luck, kid," the man said as he offered a hand. Xander took it and got helped to his feet. "Thanks for the hand. Looks like Bungee decided to welsh on his deal. I really hate welshers." Bigfoot gave a growl that seemed to be agreement.

"Well, glad to help," Xander said as he looked at the ship behind him. "That your ship? It looks…" He fumbled for a moment. "Servicable."

"We like it," the man said. He turned to his companion. "Listen, we'd better get out of here before someone shows up. Grab the money, we'll figure out a way to sell this stuff off later."

He moved to the ramp but stopped as he realized his friend was coming. "Chewie, come on!"

Bigfoot was looking at Xander with interest. He turned to face Han and made a series of growls as he nodded to a baffled Xander. The man came down the ramp, his face thrown. "What about him? Yeah, he helped out but-----"

The furry creature made more growls and motioned to Xander. The man rolled his eyes. "Aw come on, you pulled that life debt stuff on me already!" Bigfoot put his hands on his hips and snarled, causing his friend to put his hands up in defeat. "All right, all right! You won't shut up about it anyway so fine."

He turned to Xander and let out a sigh. "My friend here is the sentimental type. You helped us out, he thinks we owe you. You got somewhere else to be?"

"Um, no," Xander said.

"Huh. Got a job?"

"No."

"Can you keep your head down and ready to help out if trouble strikes?"

"I've got experience in that area."

"Got a name?"

"Xander Harris."

He nodded. "Good. He motioned to the furry creature next to him. "This is Chewbacca and I'm Han Solo. Welcome to the _Millennium Falcon_." He headed up the ramp, followed by Chewbacca and Xander began to wonder if maybe he wouldn't have been better off back at the bar.

**END PROLOUGE**


	2. A NotSoState Dinner

New Blood in A New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Chapter Two: A Not-So-State Dinner

Over the course of eight months, Willow had come to find Alderaan to be a rather great place to be marooned on.

The weather was always nice and bright with few rainy days. The lush green meadows and mountains were clear of pollution and most of the other problems that the "nature" of Earth had. The people were very friendly, due in no small part to the pacifistic nature of the planet. It had taken a bit for Willow to get used to a planet where weapons were outlawed. But it made for a very nice environment to live in.

She realized that her comfort was also due to her position as handmaiden to the Princess. Willow was sure Leia still chuckled at the look on her face when she discovered the woman she'd ran into in the fields was the Royal Princess of the planet and a member of the Imperial Senate. Once she'd gotten over that shock, Willow had spun a bit of a tale involving a spaceship off course and her having to land on Alderaan. She wasn't sure if Leia or her father believed her but they didn't press the subject.

What they had done was give Willow a place to stay at the palace and the task of one of Leia's handmaidens. It was hard work at times but Willow was able to keep up with it. She managed to click onto how mathematics worked in this galaxy in order to help out with some matters and handled Leia's duties with the Senate. Of course, there was one other matter Leia had a hand in that Willow wasn't able to fully help on.

She was enjoying a walk in the park near the palace, breathing in the fine air. She was dressed in her usual robes, liking the red color on her, a headband pulling her red hair back a bit. She actually had come to like the outfits which, like everything else on Alderaan, had a sedate style. Willow was coming to a favorite spot near a small pond when she saw a familiar figure coming toward her. "Leia!"

Princess Leia Organa smiled at the handmaiden she had come to know and greatly like over the last several months. She was dressed in her usual white robes with her hair done up in a pair of buns at the sides of her head. However, her outfit was marred with dirt and a couple of scratches. "Willow," she said. "I know I'm not dressed for the Royal Court…"

"What happened?" Willow asked as she came up. "The _Tantive_ arrived hours ago so we expected you back by now."

"I took the long way back," Leia answered. "The T'ill are in bloom all through the uplands."

Willow nodded slowly. "Something tells me you didn't just want to check out the sights."

Leia nodded. "I needed some time to think over what happened on Rallitiir."

"We've heard reports," Willow said. "Innocent people rounded up, interment camps, all for the search for Rebels."

"It's worse than that," Leia said, her face a mix of anger and sorrow. "They're executing people without trial! Setting up torture chambers as 'interrogation centers.' It's…it's a nightmare."

Willow sadly nodded as the two began to walk toward the palace. She had quickly learned the real story behind the Galactic Empire, not just from Bail and Leia but also from some of the older residents of the planet. She knew about the fall of the Jedi and how the Republic had been transformed virtually overnight into the Empire. For the Jewish-born young woman, the whole thing was frightently familiar. That thought pushed her next words.

"So…I assume you're going to push for more help with the Rebel Alliance?"

Leia stopped and stared, obviously startled. "But…what do you mean?"

Willow smiled softly. "Leia…I know. Okay? I know you've been working with the Rebel Alliance. I helped check the manifest for the Rallitiir trip."

"We were just taking over medical supplies," Leia defensively said.

Willow raised an eyebrow. "Combat-type med-paks and three surgical stations? Spare parts and power units suitable for military equipment? I'm not an idiot, Leia."

"I know you're not," Leia quickly said. "But…I'm a member of the Imperial Senate."

"Which makes you a great aide," Willow said. "Also, I overheard you and your father talking about it."

She left out the part that she had been in her room when she heard them in the main throne room. Willow had still been trying her magic now and then, discovering that something in this galaxy had a much more powerful aura than the magic fields of Earth. She had wondered if was this "Force" she'd heard mentioned at times. She hadn't used it too much, fearing the dangers of mixing two such magical styles but minor things, such as a hearing spell, had clicked which had led to her discovering what the Organas were really up to.

Seeing the worry on Leia's face, Willow quickly went on. "It's ok. I'm not going to tell, trust me. You've been so good to me and I'm proud that you're taking it to these guys."

Leia smiled, her worry fading. "All right. Thank you." She let out a sigh. "In that case, you might as well come with me when I tell my father what I've decided." She headed to the palace, Willow following.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Bail Organa was a handsome man, despite his age and the added grey to his hair and beard. He was dressed in his usual elaborate roles, smiling as he gave his daughter a hug. "I was getting worried about you."

"I apologize, Father," she answered. "But I needed time to think."

"And what has all this soul-searching of my daughter led to?" Bail asked with a mischievous smile.

Leia looked to Willow, who gave her an encouraging nod. Turning back to her father, Leia brought herself up and spoke. "It's time Alderaan stopped just resisting the Empire and started to fight it."

"Leia!"

"I know this runs counter to everything you believe in, Father, but…"

Bail shook his head. "Violence and warfare nearly destroyed us during the Clone Wars. Do you want to begin it all over again?"

"How does Alderaan not having a single weapon help when the Empire keeps building fleets and armies?" Leia pressed.

Bail turned to his daughter. "Will you be the one to bring war to us, Leia!"

"No!" she fired back. "But I can't let others in the Rebel Alliance take all the risks." At the look Bail shot Willow, Leia quickly said. "She knows already, Father."

Bail seemed to look at both as he softly said. "Will you take up arms? Would you kill?"

"I didn't start this, the Empire did!"

"Lord Organa," Willow carefully said. "We want to try and stop this."

The man let out a sigh. "It may be too late for that."

Leia frowned. "What do you mean?"

Bail made his way toward the large chair at the room's center. "That Rebel agent you managed to get off Rallitiir gave us some information. It took a lot of effort to find it all out but it appears that almost since the Empire was formed, the Emperor has been sending resources to a distant part of the galaxy. Grand Moff Tarkin is the one in charge of the project."

"What project?" Leia asked.

"The ultimate weapon," Bail solemnly said as he sat down. "A battle station larger and more powerful than any built before. They call it…the Death Star."

Willow swallowed. She had no idea what this was but there was no way in hell something with a name like that could possibly be anything good. Leia seemed as stunned as she was, trying to formulate words. "We need to find out more."

"We do," her father agreed. "And Lord Tion may be the key. He's coming here."

Leia frowned. "He is? Why?"

Bail managed a small smile. "He thinks you're taken with him."

Leia rolled her eyes. "That was a ruse. We needed to get the rebel off the planet and I knew Tion's surveillance system would pick up any conversation. So, I pretended to be enamored but that he needed to be taken down a few pegs and that searching my ship would anger you."

"So of course, he didn't search," Willow concluded. "Nice."

"Well, it appears you convinced him too well," Bail dryly said. "He's coming for a private dinner. I know you find him loathsome but…"

"But we need the information he has." Leia nodded. "Very well. It's one night and may it pass by swiftly…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It took Willow about five minutes to conclude that she'd rather be in a dungeon with Spike, Drusilla and her own vampire double than to have dinner with Lord Tion.

The man oozed arrogance from every pore of his body, which was tall and clad in the usual black outfit of an Imperial officer. His hair was black and slicked, his face marked by a sharp nose and seemingly permanent smirk. He was laughing as he kept talking, taking a broad sip of his wine.

"So when the resistance leaders showed up under the flag of truce to parley, I locked the doors and torched the whole building!" He laughed as Willow dropped her silverware, grabbing her drink. Tion raised an eyebrow. "Have I upset you?"

Bail quickly spoke. "She is merely upset that you've chosen to wear your sidearm to dinner, Lord Tion." He nodded to the holster at the man's hip. "Alderaan is a planet of peace. We have banned all weapons."

"That is why I came without guards," Tion responded. "An intimate dinner with friends. But I am a solider of the Empire and thus must always be on duty."

"I'm sure you're very secure, being the only one armed," Leia muttered.

"Probably overcompensating for something," Willow fired back, causing Leia to giggle.

Bail quickly spoke. "So what are your plans here, Lord Tion?"

The man sipped his wine. "I was planning to go to the continent of Thonn and do some hunting."

"Hunting?" Bail was thrown. "There's no hunting on Alderaan."

"Come, come, I happen to know you are doing some soon."

Leia shook her head. "We cull the weak from herds who won't be able to survive the upcoming winter."

"Someone must do the actual culling, is that not so?" Tion smiled.

"So that's how you spend your free time?" Willow snapped. "Hunting down innocent animals?"

"Willow!" Leia hissed. She turned to Tion, trying to sound sincere. "I'm sorry, I know it's not her place."

"It's all right," Tion said in a condescending tone. "She's only a handmaiden. She cannot understand a world of danger."

Willow managed to hold back a smile at that. Tion didn't appear to notice as he continued. "You ought to look beyond your simple philosophies and consider the value of other things. Technology, for instance. Oh, I'll admit you here on Alderaan are more than comfortable but by employing more efficient methods, you could expand your economy threefold."

"If we cared to," Bail carefully said.

"Consider our two attitudes, Lord Organa. Your people place primary importance on being one with themselves. But consider the other side of the coin. A technology and methods of organizing people that can reshape entire planets and bring the galaxy under a single rule."

"Whether the galaxy wants it or not," Leia sardonically mentioned.

Tion simply shook his head like a teacher to a backward pupil. "Surely your father has told you of the chaos of the Clone Wars? Chaos born of the intermingling of species, of the lack of control. The Emperor has given that control to us and thus has the galaxy has profited." He smiled and leaned forward. "Alderaan can profit from a closer link to the Empire. A link I can provide."

Bail set his wine glass down. "What are you proposing, Lord Tion?"

"A marriage," the man simply said. "Between your daughter and myself."

Willow had no idea how Leia was able to keep the obvious disgust off her face as she coolly spoke. "And what are you proposing?"

Tion laughed. "Quite right! At the moment, I am but a simple nobleman from a minor house. But," pride snuck into his tone. "I am working on a project with Grand Moff Tarkin that will soon place me among the elite of the Empire."

"What sort of project?" Leia asked.

"Well, it is classified…"

"Then you'll have to wait for an answer." Willow made a note to never go against Leia in a card game. Her gamble was paying off as Tion smiled and nodded.

"Oh, do you think I'm afraid to break a rule now and again?" He leaned in, his voice dropping. "The project is almost complete, the latest convoy from Tarkin's headquarters will drop off the plans."

"What plans?" Leia asked, trying not to sound too anxious.

"A space station," Tion announced. "No mere orbital platform, either. This is a station that has been underway for almost twenty years. It is the largest machine of war ever constructed, the size of a class-four moon."

"Class-four?" Bail couldn't keep the shock from his voice. "But…the cost of such a project alone…"

Tion waved a hand. "What is money compared to the future of the Empire? The size is necessary considering the Prime Weapon it houses. A laser cannon of such power it requires a sphere of that size to house it. A weapon capable of annihilating an entire planet with a single blast."

Willow didn't know what was more chilling: The idea of anyone even conceiving something like this let alone building it…Or the matter of fact way Tion talked about it. "Henceforth, the Emperor can order a single source of trouble and we can simply snuff it out of existence."

"But…you can't just wipe out an entire planet at whim!" Leia said, unable to keep her disgust clear anymore.

"It's progress!" Tion announced. "A new order is emerging and I intend to be among those who will lead it! Your daughter can join me and Alderaan can prosper from it."

"From an Empire wallowing in pain and death?" Leia snarled. "An Empire of oppression? Under a Death Star that would-----"

"How did you know that name?" Tion's smile had vanished, his face now serious. "That code name…"

"I…I used no…" Leia tried to recover but it was too late.

"You used the project's code name," Tion hissed. "How could you know it?"

"Um, it was just some visual imagery," Willow tried to step in. "You know, station the size of a moon, brings massive death to it, Death Star just sorta comes easy. You know, maybe you should consider trademarking it to------"

"That was no accidental turn of phrase!" Tion rose to his feet. "I am summoning my men. As of now, you are all to consider yourselves under arrest!"

"I would remind you that you're a guest under my roof," Bail stated, trying to keep calm.

"Remain where you are!" Tion said as he reached to his holster and pulled out his blaster. "We shall soon see how much the Organas knows about the Rebel Alliance!"

"No!" Leia shot out of her seat to grab at Tion's gun.

"Let go, Princess!" Tion yelled as he tried to pull it back. "You're only making this worse for yourself!"

"Leia, stop!" Bail yelled as he got out of his seat as well.

"We can't let him take us, Father!" Leia cried out as she wrestled with the gun. Willow ran over to help her, trying to pry it away as Tion fought back. He shoved away from them, the blaster aimed right at Leia. As she saw Tion's finger tighten on the trigger, Willow made a desperate move…

The sound of a blaster and a scream of pain echoed in the dining hall.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Willow wiped her eyes as her tears finally faded. She sat on the bed in her room, wiping at her face. Night had fallen fully but she'd barely noticed, too overwhelmed by what had happened earlier. She barely heard the door open and the footsteps approaching.

"Are you all right?" At the soft voice, Willow turned and managed a smile. "I'm getting there," she whispered back.

Leia sat next to her, rubbing a shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, Willow. He died at his own hand."

Willow just looked down, unable to reply. When she'd seen Tion about to fire, she'd done the only thing she could, which was to cast a spell to deflect the bolt. What she hadn't counted on was for it to backfire, causing the blaster to erupt right in Tion's chest and face, killing him almost instantly. As far as Leia and Bail knew, it was a freak accident. But Willow knew better.

"I…I just thought….I just wanted to stop him…" Willow said.

"He would have arrested us. Maybe killed us," Leia said. "Don't blame yourself at all for this, Willow. Please."

Willow managed a smile in thanks. She was tempted to try for a hug but remembered her place.

A knock sounded from the door. "Leia? Are you here?" Bail's voice came from the other side.

Willow wiped her eyes as she and Leia both stood up. Bail entered and nodded. "I just received word from the Rebels. I was able to get the information Tion gave us to them. It was a pitched battle but in the end, the Rebels won. The plans are ours."

"Thank the Force," Leia breathed. "What about Tion?"

"His body's been taken to the southern game preserve. The Empire shouldn't miss him for some time. Later, we can arrange some sort of hunting accident."

"What about the plans?" Leia asked.

"The Rebels on Toprawa want us to enter their system and make a close pass by their planet. They'll transmit the planet to us."

"But surely that'll be a restricted system by now!" Leia argued.

"I'm taking the _Tantive,_" Bail explained. "We'll say we need repairs and hope the Imperials don't notice."

Leia shook her head. "No, Father, you're too important to Alderaan!"

"Who else can I send?"

"Who's always using the _Tantive_ for errands of mercy?"

It was Bails' turn to shake his head in denial. "Leia, no! I won't allow it!"

"Father, people died to get that information to us."

"They knew the risks."

"So do I."

There was a long pause as they eyed one another. Willow saw a lot in that gaze. Love, concern, worry…and pride. Finally, Bail nodded. "Very well. Captain Antilles can help you. But you'll need more than just arms and soldiers. We need experienced minds. We need Obi-Wan Kenobi."

The name meant nothing to Willow but it apparently did to Leia, who reacted in surprise. "Kenobi? I…I thought he was dead."

Bail nodded. "So does the Empire. Once you have the plans, head to Tatooine. You'll find him there. He should know who you are."

"I'm going with," Willow announced. As the two Organas looked at her in surprise, she quickly went on. "You need any help you can get. And it'd be suspicious going around with a handmaiden."

Bail nodded. "She's right. You'd best be going soon, the _Tantive_ is ready to raise ship."

Leia moved to hug him. "Father, thank you. Thank you for trusting me. I'll try to make you proud."

"Leia, my darling, you already have. You already have."

Willow couldn't help but be moved by the sight of the two hugging. If only she could rid herself of this nagging feeling that this was more of goodbye than it seemed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Next: We track to Tatooine to see how the Slayer is handling desert farm life. **


	3. Hot Planet, Cold Future

New Blood in A New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Part two: Hot Planet, Cold Future

"You're too close."

"I'm not too close."

"You're going too fast!"

"I'm not going too fast!"

"You're not a complete jackass."

"I'm a…oh, nice try."

Buffy Summers sat back in her seat, making sure for the tenth time that her belt was tightly fastened. She glanced at the young man piloting the T-16 Skyhopper as it raced over the sands of Tatooine. The Skyhopper basically was a pair of long wings and a large fin with a tiny cockpit set between them. It was made for speed, not for durability, which meant that getting into a wreck at high speeds would have bad consequences for the passengers.

"Luke, I really think you should slow down a bit," Buffy called over the wind whipping into the cockpit of the ship.

"I don't recall you taking it easy yesterday," Luke fired back.

"I'm a girl, we're supposed to be bad drivers," Buffy retorted. "This isn't driving, it's, LOOK OUT FOR THE ROCK!"

With a simple jerk of the controls, Luke peeled away from the large boulder and onto the main desert pathway. Buffy yelped as she shook in the chair. "Dammit, Luke!"

"You wanted us home fast!"

"And in one piece, have you forgotten that!" Buffy looked forward and saw the large rock nearby shaped like a needle. "Luke…what are you doing?"

"I can shave five seconds off my time going through the eye," Luke calmly noted.

"Luke…" Buffy closed her eyes as they headed to the rock, grabbing the strap overhead for support as the Skyhopper peeled toward the eye. She heard the sound of rock scraping on metal for a few seconds and the ship wobbled before straightening. When she dared to open her eyes, she saw the desert flowing ahead of her. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Hey, it worked!" Luke laughed. "Man, if only Biggs had been here to see this!"

"Yeah, he would have made a great pallbearer if you'd been a foot off!" Buffy yelled back. She shook her head as she saw the structure starting to come into view.

"Don't worry," Luke stated. "Next time, you can thread it yourself."

"Yeah, don't think so," Buffy shot back as the craft began to slow down. It finally stopped before the large garage by the dome-shaped buildings. Buffy instantly stepped out and fell to her knees on the sand. "Land!" she dramatically called out.

Luke chuckled as he stepped out and opened the garage door. He looked up and saw the top fin of the Skyhopper was missing almost a foot of metal. "Hmm…looks I shaved it a bit."

Buffy's eyes widened as she saw it. "Oh, screw this. I'm sticking with the landspeeder."

"Luke! Buffy!" The two turned to see a pleasant looking woman in her forties stepping out of the pit near the domes. She brushed her graying hair back as she looked them over. "Owen's in a tizzy over you two going out like that! He's complaining about you neglecting your chores."

"It was only a quick ride, Aunt Beru," Luke said. "I was giving Buffy another lesson. Besides, it's not like the desert is going anywhere."

"You're right, Luke, it's not," came a gravely voice. They saw a burly man step out from one of the domes, dressed in dark desert clothing, his face haggard and scowling. "And if you don't get to work, that's all it'll ever be, a desert."

"Yes, Uncle Owen," Luke said as he put the Skyhopper in the garage.

"Now you two get going! I want those vaporators up and running by this afternoon!"

"Uncle Owen, those vaporators are ten years old!" Luke protested. "They don't work as well anymore."

"They will if you put in hard work instead of having your head in the stars!" Owen angrily retorted. He glared at Buffy. "That goes for you too, young lady! I'm not putting a boarder up for nothing! You want to stay here, you earn your keep."

"Jawhol, mein Herr," Buffy muttered under her breath. She and Luke reluctantly moved to the droid and speeder nearby.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It had been a hard eight months for Buffy. It had taken a while to get used to the harsh climate of Tatooine and more to get used to life on the Lars ranch. Beru was nice and kind, always with a kind word and nice to Buffy. Owen, on the other hand, was hard to the extreme, treating Buffy the same way he treated Luke, which was more like an employee than family.

That was a shame as Luke was a really nice guy. Buffy could tell he was chafing under life here on Tatooine, wanting to get out to join the Imperial Academy. It wasn't that Luke liked the Empire at all, he just wanted off this world fast. Buffy could definitely get behind that.

She supposed she was lucky to have run into Luke and have him talk Beru and Owen into letting her stay. Better there than with the Sandpeople or the Jawas she'd heard of. She knew she could have hitched a ride out of here a while ago. But seeing as how no one had heard of Earth, she didn't know where else to go. Staying here for a while seemed a good option until she figured out something better.

At the moment, she was concentrating on working the tired old Treadwell droid trying to work the vaporators. The droid was basically a long and thin figure on a mini-treadmill that looked older than either Buffy or Luke. They were working on it, both dressed in almost total white clothing. Buffy's was a bit tanner, tight leggings and skirt with a darker top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore the same loose cap and dark shades Luke did.

"I still don't see the good in this," she complained. "How are we supposed to get any water out of some relic like this?"

"I keep telling Uncle Owen the same thing," Luke said as he checked the vaporator's readings. "But he refuses to do anything about it. Costs too much, he says."

Buffy snorted. "No offense but your Uncle's a real cheapskate."

"True," Luke agreed. "But that's his way."

Buffy let out a gasp as some sparks erupted from the droid. "Geez, might as well put a bullet in this thing!"

Luke smiled as he looked around and up. "Just be grateful the weather is clear. You should try doing this in…." He paused, his eyes peering up at the sky. "Hand me those macro-binoculars."

Frowning, Buffy did so and Luke used them to gaze up at the sky. He adjusted the settings as he looked. "Wow…" he breathed.

"What?" Buffy asked, confused.

He handed the macros to her and Buffy looked up. It took a moment to adjust her sight but she soon saw what had gotten Luke's attention. Two silver shapes flowed across the sky, one much larger than the other. Bolts of energy zipped between them with the smaller craft taking the burnt.

"The hell is going on up there?" Buffy asked as she lowered the macros. She turned to see Luke heading to the landspeeder. "What are you doing?"

"Going into Anchorhead," Luke replied. "I gotta tell everyone about this!"

"But Owen------"

"We'll be back soon!" Luke yelled as he fired it up. "You coming?"

Sighing, Buffy ran over and jumped in as the speeder took off.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Anchorhead wasn't too large a spaceport. Like much of Tatooine, it was dusty and run-down and more aliens than you'd see elsewhere in the Empire. Luke brought the landspeeder to a stop before the small shop. "Hey, guys!" he called out. "You won't believe…"

He stopped and stared at the one member of the group Buffy didn't recognize. He was tall and handsome with a thick mustache and a mischievous smile. He was dressed in the uniform of an Imperial with dark pants, light shirt and cape. He smiled at Luke warmly. "I was hoping you'd come by."

"Biggs!" Luke called out, racing in to hug the other man. "When did you get in?"

"My ship had a stopover and I thought I'd drop by to visit the old homestead one last time!" the man laughed.

Luke motioned to Buffy. "Biggs, this is Buffy Summers, she's been living with us for a while. Buffy, this is Biggs Darklighter."

"The famous Biggs?" Buffy noted. "Wow, I was starting to think Luke was making you up."

Biggs took her hand and kissed it. "Nice to see some beauty in this otherwise dirty old place."

"Hey!" shouted a young woman nearby, hanging next to the sour-looking man named Fixer.

"Sorry, Cammie," Biggs chuckled. "Anyway, Luke, you didn't quite introduce me right. I am now Third Mate on the _Rand Ecliptic_ Darklighter."

"I thought you still had a few terms," Luke said.

"Ah, the Academy has been pushing our training through faster. They want us to be able to take the fight to the Rebellion."

"Well, they choose well with you," Luke noted. "You were the number one rider here."

Biggs chuckled. "Luke, every guy in my class was the number one rider where they came from. Trust me, in the Academy it doesn't really matter."

Luke grinned as he slapped Biggs on the back. "Hey, come on, what about a speeder ride for old time's sake? There's something I wanted to tell you."

"Something I wanted to tell you too," Biggs noted as he followed the young man out. Buffy smiled as she watched them before going into the shop. She saw the stares and leers from those around her as she got a bottle of water and began to drink from it. She glanced around the shop, taking in the stares and a couple of leers. She looked them over as she thought about it.

_Fixer's just smart enough to know he's better off being the big voice in a small room. Cammie's dumb enough to think she's got the best catch hereabouts. Windy's a follower and Deak's the follower of a follower. No wonder Luke talks about Biggs all the time._

She saw Windy coming up, a smirk on his face and sighed. "Not enough wine on the planet, Windy."

"Come on, Sum," he said, using the nickname she hated. "When are you going to work on your feelings towards me?"

"If I did, you'd be dead, Windy," Buffy dryly said.

"Aw, Sum," he said, reaching toward her rear. "Surely, you can-----" His voice broke off as Buffy grabbed his wrist and yanked it back. Windy yelled as he was forced to his knees, Buffy shoving him back with her foot. Her expression didn't change a whit as she walked out of the shop, still sipping her drink.

Windy winced as he rubbed his wrist. "Something I said?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So are you going to talk about it?"

"About what?" Luke asked as he pushed the Treadwell droid into its recharging unit.

"About what's been up your rear since you got back from Biggs," Buffy said. "You barely said anything, not when we got back, not when we finished our work or the ride home. Come on, Luke, fess up."

Luke sighed as he checked the droid. "Biggs is going to join the Rebellion."

Buffy's eyes widened. "What?!"

Luke nodded. "He says he and some other cadets are jumping ship at their next port to find a Rebel cell."

"Are you kidding?" Buffy demanded. "The galactic government with limitless resources can't find these guys and he thinks he can? Who does he think they are, the A-Team?"

Luke just sighed as he sat on a bench. "He's going all right. And I'm stuck here."

Buffy shook her head. "Luke, I know it's rough. Maybe…maybe it's time you thought about just striking out on your own."

"I can't," Luke said. "Uncle Owen…"

"Feeds you that 'I brought up you and provided for you' line all the time just so you feel indebted," Buffy fired back. "He's trying to keep you here so he can get some free labor!"

"What do you want me to do?" Luke angrily retorted. "They're all the family I've got, Buffy! I can't just leave them!"

Buffy sighed. "I know…I just…You can't just stay here forever, Luke."

"I know," Luke sadly stated. "But I don't know what else to do."

Before Buffy could reply, the door banged open and Owen stormed in. "About time you two got back!" he angrily said. "I was expecting you an hour ago."

"Sorry, Uncle Owen," Luke stated. "We had to make a stop in town."

The man snorted. "I can imagine. Well, it had better be worth it cause we've got more work tomorrow!"

"Owen, you ever consider getting a few more droids?" Buffy asked.

The man glowered at her. "We don't need droids, girl! We need some good hard work!"

"But Uncle Owen," Luke said. "With one or two more droids, we can be more efficient and turn a bigger profit."

Owen seemed to consider it. "Hmm…maybe. But where will we get them?"

"There might be a sandcrawler in the area," Luke offered.

Owen snorted again. "Damn Jawas. They get a beaten-up droid, slap some tape and wiring together and an hour after you buy it, it falls apart!"

"It can't hurt to look," Luke pressed.

Owen had to nod in agreement. "Yeah…your aunt's been pestering me to get a protocol droid to help around the house anyhow. All right, I'll send up a flare, see if anyone answers."

He wandered out as Buffy looked toward Luke. "I forgot to ask. You tell Biggs about those ships we saw?"

"He took a look," Luke answered. "But said it looked like one was just docking with the other. But he did believe they were firing earlier."

"Maybe some sort of Rebel action up there," Buffy suggested.

Luke shook his head as he headed out of the garage. "The Rebel and the Empire don't care about this place, Buffy. I don't think we'll be seeing any action around here for a long, long time."

As Buffy followed, she couldn't help thinking that with her track record, that might not exactly be true.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Next: A meeting with two droids and the first steps on a big path. **


	4. Of Droids and Data

New Blood in A New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Part three: Of Droids and Data

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Any day that didn't require her to go into the vast plains of the desert was a good day for Buffy. She had no idea how enjoyable housework could be before she became a desert farmer. The interior of the house was surprisingly cool thanks to the way it was built into the ground. Keeping it clean was a trying task but Buffy did her best to manage it.

She was just sweeping out the main room when Luke appeared at the doorway. "Hey, a Jawa sandcrawler just pulled up. Come on, Uncle Owen could use some help with what we buy."

Nodding, Buffy put the broom to the side and followed him up. They headed up the steps as Buffy saw the sandcrawler up ahead. She was surprised she hadn't heard something so massive pulling up. The sandcrawler appeared to be three or four stories high, its brown plates dented and rusty but the wedge at its front pointing outward proudly. It sat on gigantic treads that appeared in better shape than the rest of the vehicle.

Buffy saw the Jawas scurrying about, dressed in their brown robes, only their yellow eyes visible. The tallest barely came up to her hip, making her feel a bit better about her size for once. She was about to follow Luke when she heard Beru's voice behind her. "Buffy!"

Buffy walked back and looked down into the center of the home where Beru was looking up at her. "Tell Owen that if he buys a translator droid, make sure it speaks Bocce!"

"I don't think we'll have that much of a choice but I'll let him know!" Buffy called down. She turned and headed over toward the sandcrawler. She saw Owen and Luke looking over the droids, the elder man grumbling.

"I'm telling you straight off, I don't want any junkers, rebuilts or scrap-heap candidates. I've already got a Treadwell, don't need another." He paused to look at a droid that appeared ready to come apart at any moment. "A Mark II reactor drone? They haven't used these clunkers in twenty years!"

The head Jawa jabbered in his own language as he motioned at the droids. Luke was following him, motioning to one of the two similar-built squat droids. Both had barrel-shaped bodies and rested on legs set high in the torsos with a dish-like head. One's was a dome with blue markings, the other a bit larger with red coloring. Nodding to the droids, Luke spoke. "We could use a power droid, Uncle Owen."

"Yeah," Owen admitted. "You're right on that. These blue one's a bit beat-up though." The droid let out a loud bleep. "Talks too much too. I'll take this red one."

He walked down to where a humanoid droid stood, his gold plating covered with dust. Large photoreceptor "eyes" looked out as his arms stiffly hung outward. As he looked at him, Owen felt the tiniest twinge of recognition but brushed it aside. That droid was beat-up years ago, there was no chance this was the same one. Besides, that had been grey, not gold. "You. I suppose you're programmed for etiquette and protocol."

"Protocol?" the droid said in a friendly tone that carried what sounded like a British accent to Buffy. "Why, sir, that's my primary function. I am also-----"

"I have no need for a protocol droid," Owen said.

"Of course not, sir!" the droid quickly said. "Not in an environment such as this. That is why I have been programmed for over thirty secondary functions that include----"

"What I need," Owen interrupted. "Is a droid who can understand the binary language of moisture vaporators."

"Vaporators! Sir, my first task was to program and maintain binary load-lifters, very similar to your vaporators in most respects."

That voice seemed familiar but Owen brushed it aside. Chances were, all protocol droids sounded alike. At Buffy's cough, he turned to face her. "Owen, Beru said that if you got a droid…."

"Oh, yeah, right." Turning back to the robot, Owen spoke. "Do you speak Bocce?"

"Of course, sir!" the droid eagerly said. "It's almost like a second language to me. I am fluent in over six------"

"All right, all right, shut up."

"Shutting up, sir."

Owen turned to Luke. "Luke, take these two to the garage and have them cleaned up and charged by dinner."

"But I was going into Toshi Station to pick up some power converters," Luke replied. Buffy winced at the tone he was taking.

Owen glared hard at him. "You can waste time with your idle friends later, Luke."

Luke sighed. "All right. Come on." He motioned and the golden droid followed, his legs stiff and unbending. Seeing the R5 unit hanging back, Luke spoke. "You too, Red, come on!" The red droid began to move forward.

Buffy noticed the blue droid letting out a soft moan and the golden one looking back at him. The blue droid tried to move forward but a Jawa pointed some sort of stick to quiet him. Buffy frowned but before she could react more, there was a loud banging sound. Spinning around, Buffy saw a puff of smoke come out of the R5 unit which stopped in place.

Checking it quickly, Luke called out. "Uncle Owen!"

Owen turned from where he had been paying off the head Jawa. "What is it?"

"This R5 unit has a bad motivator, look!" Luke pointed at the smoking droid.

Owen angrily turned to the Jawa. "Hey, what are you trying to push on us?" The Jawa fired back, waving its hands and chittering in its own language.

The golden droid leaned to Luke. "If I may suggest, sir, that blue R2 unit is a good choice. A real bargin. A bit eccentric but I've worked with him before and he is dependable."

Buffy glanced at the droid and spoke up. "Owen, what about that blue one?"

It took a few moments for the deal to be made, Owen managing to get some money back for the R5 mistake. Luke and Buffy led the two droids over to the garage. Buffy couldn't help overhearing the golden droid speaking to the smaller one. "Now don't you forget this! Why I stick my neck out for you is beyond my capacity!"

Buffy walked up to where Luke was. "I can't believe you whined like that," she teased.

"I didn't whine!" Luke claimed.

"Oh, please!" Buffy mocked him. "I need to go to Toshi Station, Uncle Owen? Pleeeassee?" She batted her eyes as Luke just rolled his.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Oh, thank the maker!" the golden droid said with what sounded like a true moan of satisfaction. He was being lowered into a tub filled with a greasy liquid in the garage. Buffy was checking the controls as Luke with the model of his skyhopper.

"Thank you, sir and madam!" the droid stated. "This oil bath is just what I needed! My counterpart and myself are in your debt!"

Luke sighed as he put the model down. "It's just not fair! Blast it all, Biggs is right, I'm never going to get out of here!"

"Is there anything I can do to help, sir?" the golden droid asked.

Luke snorted. "Not unless you can alter time or speed up the harvest."

"Or teleport us off this rock," Buffy added.

"I'm afraid I do not have those capabilities," the droid admitted. "I'm only a droid and not so knowledgeable about such things. Not on a planet such as this. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure what planet this is."

Luke smiled as he headed to the blue droid and used the same words he had on Buffy months ago. "Well, if there's a bright spot to the center of the universe, you're on the planet it's furthest from."

"I see, sir," the droid intoned as Buffy raised him from the vat.

"It's Luke."

"I see, Sir Luke."

The young man chuckled. "No, just Luke. And this is Buffy."

"Hello," the droid said. "I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. This is my counterpart, Artoo-Deetoo."

Luke nodded at the smaller droid as he examined his domed head. "Looks like you both have seen a lot of action."

"With all we've been through, it's amazing we're still functional," Threepio said as he walked out of the bath. "What with the Rebellion and all."

Luke was on his feet instantly, his face excited as he moved to Threepio. "You know about the Rebellion against the Empire?"

"That's how we came to be in your service, sir. If you take my meaning."

"Have you been in any recent battles?" Buffy asked.

"Several," Threepio said. "Including one just yesterday."

Buffy looked triumphantly at Luke. "So we did see a battle overhead."

"Actually, Madam, for a droid, a battle is largely a matter of loud noise and having humans order you out of their way. I'm sorry but I'm not really much of a storyteller."

Luke had lost some of the initial excitement and went back to Artoo. "Still sounds a lot more exciting than my life."

"But not mine," Buffy stated.

"I assure you, Mistress Buffy," Threepio said. "I am more than looking forward to a little less excitement.

Luke was pushing a tool into a panel on Artoo's head. "Hmm…looks like you've got something stuck in here. Were you two on a starcrusier or------"

There was a flash and Luke instinctively sat back. A panel in Artoo's head had pulled open and an emitter was letting out a beam of light. It struck part of the floor and Luke and Buffy stared at the sight of a holographic figure. She was a beautiful young woman with dark hair hidden under a white hood. She wore a white robe and was speaking. "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." She looked behind her and bent down. There was a bust of static and then the image replayed itself.

"What is that?" Buffy asked, staring at the hologram with Luke.

Artoo let out a whistle as Threepio came over. "What's what?" the golden droid exclaimed. "What do you mean? What is that?" Artoo beeped and Threepio nodded. "Oh. He says it's just old data, sir. Not important."

"Who is she?" Luke asked softly. "She's beautiful." Buffy shot him a look, annoyed at the expression of rapture on his face.

"I…can't be certain, sir." Threepio said carefully. "I think she was a passenger on our last voyage. A person of some importance, I believe."

"Is there more to this recording?" Buffy asked. "Looks like the record's stuck."

Artoo let out a few more beeps and Threepio translated. "He claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi, a resident of these parts. This message is for him. Frankly, sir, I don't know what he's talking about. Our last master was Captain Antilles. But after what we've been through, I'm afraid this little R2 unit is rather eccentric."

Artoo let out a sharp beep and Threepio hushed him. "Quiet, Artoo! You're going to get us into trouble!" Artoo turned his head slightly towards the two humans as Threepio went on. "It's all right, you can trust them! They're our new masters."

Buffy watched the hologram repeat and shook her head. "Any ideas what this is about, Luke?"

Luke stroked his chin as he thought. "Hmm…I wonder if he means old Ben Kenobi."

Buffy looked at him in surprise. "Wait, you know this dude?"

"I don't know anyone named Obi-Wan," Luke answered as he got another tool from the bench. "But Ben lives out by the Dune Sea. He's kind of a hermit, almost never shows up. I met him a couple of times."

Buffy watched the hologram. "Is there any way we can get more of this?"

Artoo let out some beeps as Threepio spoke. "He claims that the restraining bolt the Jawas fitted him with is inhibiting the motivational components. He suggests that if you remove the bolt, he might be able to play the whole message."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "So we have to remove the restraining bolt for him? Gee, how convenient."

Luke thought about it and shrugged. "Ah, well, not like someone this little can get far." He leaned forward and worked on the bolt, managing to deactivate it. As soon as he did, the hologram faded away.

"Hey, where'd it go!" Buffy called out.

Luke was upset as well as he called out at Artoo. "Play it back! Play back the whole message!"

Artoo whistled. "What message?" Threepio actually smacked a golden hand on Artoo's head. "The one you were just playing! The one you've got bouncing around in those rusty innards of yours!"

Artoo let out some beeps and if Threepio had eyes to roll, he would have. "I apologize, sir, but he claims that he's developed a circuitry flux."

"I'll flux him…" Buffy started in a dangerous tone but was cut off as Beru's voice carried to the garage. "Buffy! Luke! Come to dinner!"

Luke shook his head as he threw the bolt to the table. "All right, we'll try to fix it up later. Come on, Buffy." The two headed out to leave the droids alone.

Threepio shook his torso at his counterpart. "It is already distasteful that I have to lie about the Princess." Artoo beeped. "Yes, I know we have our orders to restrict all knowledge of her but still…"

Artoo whistled.

"No, I don't think that woman likes you at all."

Artoo let out a sad beep.

"No, I don't like you either."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The small kitchen was, like the rest of the home, simple and enough to suit the family's needs. Beru had already set the table as Luke and Buffy entered. Owen was already beginning his food. He barely noticed as the two young people sat and ate.

"You know, I think that R2 unit might have been stolen," Luke spoke up.

"Why's that?" Owen grumbled.

"We found a holographic message in it while we were cleaning him up," Buffy said. "He claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Owen paused, the name obviously affecting him. "What?"

Luke nodded as he chewed his food. "You think he might mean old Ben? Or someone related to him?"

Owen shook his head. "That old man's just a crazy old wizard. Tomorrow, I want you to take those droids to Anchorhead and give them a memory flush."

"But what if this Obi-Wan comes looking for him?" Luke pressed.

"I don't think he exists anymore," Owen stated. He chewed on his food before speaking. "He…died around the same time as your father."

Luke's head jerked up. "He knew my father?"

"I told you to forget about it," Owen warned.

A silence went around the table. Buffy had noticed that Luke's father was something of a sore subject with Owen. She hadn't really wanted to press for details but she knew Luke's father had died when he was a baby and guessed his mother had suffered the same fate. Owen was always tight-lipped about it and even Beru didn't like to speak about it at all. But she sensed that the name "Kenobi" seemed to effect Owen in a strange way.

After a few minutes, Luke spoke. "You know, I think those two droids are going to work out okay." He took a deep breath. "In fact, I want to send my application to the Imperial Academy this year."

Owen stared as he put his drink down. "You mean…before the harvest?" Luke nodded and Owen leaned forward. "But harvest's when I need you the most!"

"You've got me," Buffy said. "And the droids."

"But I still need more help!" Owen argued, his voice trying to be gentle. "This season, we'll make enough money that I can hire a few more hands. You can go to the academy next year."

"That's what you said last season," Luke darkly mentioned. "And the season before that."

"It's just one more year, Luke."

"It's so far away." Luke stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. He then let it drop to the table as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Beru asked.

Luke shrugged. "Offhand, I'd say I'm going nowhere." He walked out of the kitchen, heading up.

Buffy glared at Owen as she pushed her plate away. "I don't know why you're so intent on keeping him here, pal. But the more you try to hold him down, the more he's going to resent you for it. So go ahead but don't be surprised that when he finally leaves, he never comes back." She got up and walked to the doorway.

She hung at the entrance as she heard Beru speaking. "Owen, you can't keep doing this to him. All his friends have gone."

"I'll make it up to him next year. I promise."

Beru sighed. "Luke's just not a farmer, Owen. He's got too much of his father in him."

It must have been her imagination but Buffy almost swore she heard an actual touch of fear in Owen's voice as he replied. "That's what I'm afraid of."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

She found him standing on a ridge, one foot leaning on it as he looked out at the twin suns setting. "Hey," Buffy softly said. "You ok?"

Luke just stared outward. "You miss your home?" he asked.

Buffy looked down. "Yeah," she admitted. "I…had some people there. My mom, my friends…it's hard."

Luke sighed. "Funny. You want to get to your home and I'd give anything to get off mine."

Buffy gazed at the horizon herself. "Let me give you a piece of advice, Luke. Always be careful what you wish for, especially when it comes to a destiny. Cause if you get it, it's not gonna be as good as you think."

"I think I might take that chance," Luke replied as he turned away. He headed to the garage, Buffy following. As they entered, they saw the garage dark and silent. Luke frowned as he looked around for the droids. "Hmm…Buffy, where'd you leave that restraining bolt activator?"

There was a crashing sound as Threepio came from behind some crates by the landspeeder. "Wait, sir, please! It wasn't my fault! I couldn't stop him!"

"Stop who?" Luke asked but Buffy already knew.

"He just kept babbling about his mission and Obi-Wan and…"

"Dammit, I knew he was playing us!" Buffy yelled. Luke was already grabbing his macro-binoculars and rushing out of the garage. Buffy and Threepio followed as Luke scanned the horizon.

"No sign of him," Luke said. "How can something so small move so fast?" He didn't see the glare Buffy gave him at that.

"Don't blame yourself, sir," Threepio said. "These R2 models are getting out of hand but he's been downright devious. I have no idea where he gets it from."

"We'd better get after him," Buffy said.

"It's too dangerous," Luke told her. "We'll have to wait until morning."

"I can handle danger at night," Buffy confidently told him.

"But not on foot," Luke stressed. "We'll get at it first thing in the morning on the speeder."

"Luke?" They turned toward Owen's voice from the house. "I'm shutting the power down!"

"I'll be right there!" Luke called back. He shook his head. "Man, am I going to get it. You know, that little droid is going to get us all in trouble?"

"Oh, he _excels_ at that, sir," Threepio confided.

They headed back, Buffy giving Luke a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get him back before Owen finds out and we get in trouble."

"Somehow," Luke intoned. "I think we're just going to end up with a whole new set of troubles."

For some strange reason, Buffy knew he was dead on.

**Next: A trip to the Dune Sea and a meeting with a certain hermit…and a surprise.**


	5. Ghosts of the Past

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Ghosts of the Past

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Swords of light clashed and flashed, more frenetic with every movement. _

_A blonde-haired figure clashing with a being clad totally in black. _

_Another blonde dueling with…Willow? No, not Willow but long red hair and a firm build._

_A small figure tapped a cane on the swampy ground. _

_A man in a hood, only his golden eyes visible, spreading evil all around. Those eyes focused right on her as he let out a cackle. "Soon…soon, you will be ready."_

Buffy's eyes shot open and she heaved for breath. She sat up, sweaty and yet chilled at the same time. The door to her small room opened a crack and Luke's head stuck in. "Buffy?" he whispered, peering around the dark room. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am," Buffy said, trying to control herself.

"I already got Threepio up and the garage door open. We can get going and hopefully catch up to Artoo before Uncle Owen finds out."

Buffy threw her covers back. "I'll be right out." Luke nodded and backed away. Buffy Rose to try to dress, shaking her head. A Slayer dream. She hadn't had one of those since she landed here on Tatooine. As she got dressed in her tan pants and tunic, she realized that whatever was coming was much bigger than she had suspected.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The landspeeder was a bit old but still in very good shape, thanks to Luke's constant maintenance. One thing he had done was clear up a bit of the rear storage space and modify it into a seating area. Threepio sat there as Buffy and Luke rode in the front. Buffy checked the scanner at the console as Luke flew the speeder along the sands. "It looks like the wind blew any of his tracks," he called out over the engines.

"He might be going to wherever you two were heading when the Jawas caught you," Buffy said as she turned to Threepio.

"Our…pod crashed over in that direction." Threepio waved a hand toward a mesa. "Artoo seemed obsessed with going to the area beyond those mesas."

Luke's eyebrows rose at that. "That means the Judland Wastes."

Buffy shared his discomfort. "Hmmm. Everyone keeps saying that's a part of the desert to never go near. Too many of those Raider guys around."

"If you'll pardon my saying, sir and madam, this Tatooine of yours is a desolate place," Threepio remarked. "I cannot understand what brought Artoo in this direction."

"It's not totally desolate," Buffy said. "Not if this Kenobi guy is out here."

"He is," Luke said. "I actually met him once."

"What's he like?" Buffy asked. "I heard him mentioned once, some kind of hermit."

"They call him a wizard," Luke said which got Buffy interested. "About five seasons ago, my friend Windy and me took a dewback out into the Judland Wastes."

"That sounds rather rash, sir."

"Maybe. Look, we were bored. We wanted to do something to liven things up." Buffy had to smile at the idea of taking one of those massive lizards on a joyride. "We were in a canyon when the dewback threw us off and then ran off. We were in the middle of nowhere, no idea what to do and night was falling. We were about to absolutely panic when a voice called out my name."

"Ben Kenobi," Buffy guessed.

Luke nodded. "Yep. He helped lead us back to the farm, talked a lot about what it was like to live in the barren Wastes."

"So how long did Owen ground you for that little stunt?"

"That was the weird part," Luke said as he moved the controls to lead the speeder toward the left. "Uncle Owen was mad all right but not at me, but Ben. He ordered Ben off the farm and to never come back. It…" Luke shook his head. "It's almost like he was somehow afraid of Ben. Ben seemed like he wanted to talk to me about something but in the end, he left."

"I hardly blame him, sir," Threepio spoke up. "Your uncle strikes me as an…irascible fellow."

Buffy looked at the scanner, shaking her head. "I can't believe how much ground that little guy covered."

"He was fully recharged," Threepio pointed out. "He's far quicker than myself so at full power, he could cover a great amount of distance."

Luke sighed. "I hope we find him fast. Uncle Owen is gonna blow his stack if he finds out what happened."

"Would it help if you just told him it was my fault, sir?"

Luke brightened. "Hey, that's an idea! He needs you for the moisture harvest. The worst he'd do is shut you down for a few days and give you a memory flush."

"Memory flush?!" Threepio actually seemed to jump in his seat. "Well, sir, I feel the need to point out that Artoo would never have gotten away in the first place if _you _had not removed that restraining bolt."

Buffy laughed out loud. "He's got you there."

Luke just glared at her. "Anything on the scope?"

Buffy checked it over. "No, I…wait a minute, I've got something. Could be our little droid."

Luke quickly turned the speeder toward the direction Buffy pointed to. It took a few moments for them to see the small rotund figure heading toward the nearby canyons. Luke quickly pulled the speeder in front as he and Buffy leapt out. Buffy helped Threepio exit the speeder and head to the droid.

"All right, that's enough!" Luke said, holding Artoo back. "Where do you think you're going?"

The droid let out a long beep and Threepio seemed to glare at him. "Master Luke is your owner now! We'll have no more of this Obi-Wan Kenobi gibberish! You're lucky they don't just sell you back to those accursed Jawas!"

"No, no, it's all right," Luke stated. "But we'd better get you guys to work before Uncle Owen misses you."

"If you don't mind my saying so, sir, I think you should first deactivate this little fugitive."

Artoo suddenly turned his head as he let out a series of loud beeps. "Now what?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, dear," Threepio said in a worried tone. "He…he says he detects several creatures of an unknown type approaching from the northwest."

Buffy's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Sounds like a trick to me."

"No," Luke said as he went to the speeder. "It sounds more like Sandpeople. They've been getting worse the last few months." He pulled out his macro-binoculars and a rifle from the speeder's rear. "Come on, let's check it out."

"Ah, is that a good idea?" Buffy asked as she fell in behind him.

"It's just a quick look," Luke reassured her. "We'll go up, get an eye on them and get back. Besides, we should make sure they're not heading toward the settlements."

Buffy reluctantly followed him as Luke headed up the rocky face before him. "Come on, Threepio!" she called out.

"I beg your pardon, madam," Threepio said as he walked up the slope beside them. "I was not constructed with rock climbing in mind!"

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Buffy remarked as she followed Luke up to a ridge. He lay at the edge, focusing his binoculars onto the valley below. Buffy knelt by him, keeping her senses sharp as she looked around. "You see anything?"

"I see the banthas," Luke said and Buffy could see the large creatures that resembled elephants with fur coats. "But I…wait. It's Sandpeople, all right. I see one down there. I…"

Without warning, a figure shot out from the ridge right under the ledge. Buffy was stunned at its speed and how she honestly hadn't felt it coming. Apparently, eight months on a desert world had dulled her senses a bit. Hopefully, she'd be able to kick herself over it later.

The Raider howled as he stood before them. He was clad completely in robes and bandages, his face marked by odd eye and mouth filters that made him look more unearthly. He held a large staff in his hands with barbed blades on either side. He swung it toward Luke who barely dodged out of the way.

Buffy lunged forward to throw a kick at the Raider's head. It hit him at the side but it barely seemed to register the blow. Instead, it swung is stick at Buffy's head. She ducked to avoid it and tried to punch at his stomach. The Raider was much faster than she expected, however, brining its stick down at Buffy. She rolled to avoid it and rose up just in time to catch the backswing that knocked her off the ledge.

Buffy yelped as she tumbled down the steep slope, arms failing for a handhold. She felt a blast of pain as her head hit the edge of a rock. Her last thought before darkness took her was sheer annoyance at how rusty she'd gotten. And then nothing.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A howl echoed throughout the valley and roused Buffy. She groaned as her eyes opened and she took in the pain through her body. She slowly sat up, wincing hard as she rubbed her head. She looked up to see the landspeeder nearby and Luke lying unconscious on the ground with a robed figured leaning over him.

Instinct took over and she charged forward at the figure. Before she could reach him, he swept his hand back. Buffy didn't even feel his touch but found herself lifted off her feet and landing hard on the ground. _Damn, I'm gonna get an inferiority complex if this keeps up._

The figure rose up and pulled his hood back. If Buffy was annoyed before, she was more so once she saw the man appeared to be in his late fifties, perhaps early sixties. It was possible the time in the hard sands and sun of Tatooine had aged him more than he really was. His hair was white, his beard almost the same. His eyes, however, twinkled with the light of a younger man, a strength that belied his aging appearance.

"Hello there." He spoke quite calmly and with a gentle tone, as if they were in a home instead of in the desert where he had just disarmed her. "Are you all right?"

"Peachy," Buffy spat as she rose up, still keeping herself ready for a fight. She glanced at Luke, a move the old man noticed. "Oh, he'll be all right, trust me on that."

As if on cue, Luke groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. The old man knelt down to check on him. "Rest easy, son. You've had a busy day. You're lucky to still be in one piece."

Luke shook his head before looking up at the old man. "Ben?" he asked with surprise. "Ben Kenobi? Boy, am I glad to see you!"

Ben smiled as he sat back on a rock. "It has been a while, my young friend." He looked to Buffy, who was still glaring at him. "And who is this?"

"Buffy Summers, Ben Kenobi," Luke introduced the two.

Nodding, Kenobi looked back at Luke who was sitting up. "The Judland Wastes are not to be traveled lightly. What brings you out this far, young Luke?"

"Oh, this little droid here," Luke pointed at Artoo, who had come out from a crevice nearby. "He's looking for his former master. But I've never seen such loyalty in a droid before." Kenobi glanced at Artoo as Luke went on. "He claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi. You have any idea what he means?"

A haunted look came over Kenobi's face as he sat back on the rock. "Obi-Wan Kenobi?" he asked softly. "Obi-Wan…" He looked off in the distance, as if searching for something long hidden. "Now, that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time."

Both Buffy and Luke saw the man's reaction and shared a glance. "I think my uncle knew him," Luke said. "He said he was dead."

"Oh, he's not dead." Kenobi looked up, slightly amused. "Well, not yet at least."

"You know him, then," Buffy stated in a flat tone.

Kenobi chuckled as he tapped his chest. "Well, of course I know him! He's me. As both of you no doubt already suspected. But I haven't gone by the name of Obi-Wan since, oh, before either of you were born."

"So, the blue guy does belong to you," Buffy said.

"Don't seem to remember ever owning a droid." Kenobi rubbed his beard. "Hmm…most curious." A howl got their attention and Kenobi rose to his feet. "We'd best get to shelter. Sandpeople are easily startled but they'll soon be back and in greater numbers. My home is not that far."

As Luke was getting up, Buffy looked around. "Shit, where's Threepio?"

Luke joined her in looking. It didn't take long to find Threepio laying on the ground. One arm was lying next to him, wires dislodged. Luke helped sit the droid up and flicked the switch to reactivate him. "Oh my! I must have taken a bad step!"

"You seem okay," Luke said. "Can you stand?"

Threepio shook his head. "I don't think so, Master Luke. Leave me. I'm done for."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Oh you are such a drama queen." She and Luke helped the droid to his feet and towards the speeder.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kenobi's home wasn't too far at all. It was quite small, making Owen's ranch look like the Ponderosa. Buffy and Luke helped Threepio and Artoo off the speeder and toward the house, Buffy still carrying Threepio's arm.

"Nice place," Buffy said, trying to keep the sardonic tone down.

"It is modest, I'll admit," Kenobi said as he led them inside. "But I've ever been a man of simple needs. I rarely get company." He chuckled. "Well, at least until recently."

The group moved into the large room that made him the majority of the hut, Luke sitting Threepio down. Buffy caught an odor floating in from a side room and frowned. "You leave the oven on?"

"Okay, I think I got it!" A bright and chipper voice carried from the small kitchen area as a figure appeared. She was a vision in red, her hair mixing well with the copper robes she wore. "It took a little doing to get that ingredient set but-------"

She stopped and stared at Buffy who was staring back with a matching look of absolute shock mixed with unbelievable joy. Ben and Luke were confused by what was going on.

"Buffy?"

"Willow?"

With a loud cry, they fell into each other's arms and hugged hard and Buffy felt the sweetest liquid imaginable starting to flow down her cheeks. For the first time in eight months…she felt a little more whole again.

**Next: We flash back a bit to show how Willow got in this situation. **


	6. The Spice of Life

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

The Spice of Life

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**I know I stated this would be on Willow but, bowing to demand, we'll be checking in on what our favorite carpenter has been up to in this time as well…**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Space travel, Xander Harris had discovered, was not what _Star Trek_ had promised one bit.

In the seven months since he had joined the crew of the _Millennium Falcon_, Xander had come to the realization that if Earth was going to start doing space travel, they were going to be in for a rather rude awakening as to how long-term journeys in the stars went.

While Xander would be the first to state he wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, it hadn't taken him long to discover the real purpose of the ship. Naturally, finding himself on a smuggling ship was a bit of a shock. However, given his lack of other options of travel in this galaxy, he decided that it was the pirate's life for him.

He himself was surprised at how well he'd gotten into the ship's maintenance. While he had never been particularly mechanically implied, a few lessons was enough for him to understand how to repair some basic wire work and keep the hull intact. With the _Falcon_, that was a task that was almost constant.

The ship may have seemed near the brink of falling apart but was a lot tougher than it looked. The hyperspace drive was in peak condition and the armament was just plain illegal. Overall, it was the perfect smuggling vessel but what really made it work was its captain.

In the last seven months, Xander had come to the conclusion that Han Solo A) didn't have the slightest idea what he was doing half the time; and B) when he did make something work, it was usually due to luck, coincidence or pure chance than anything else. The man put the "reck" in reckless.

At the same time, Xander had to be impressed by how utterly cool Han could be under pressure. Better yet was how he treated Xander with more respect than any adult the young man had ever known. Sure, he still called him "Junior" but he knew Xander was ready to help out when the going got tough. Which, in their line of work, happened quite a lot.

Xander made his way down the corridors of the ship, heading to the cockpit. He was clad in dark pants and a light shirt, his usual wear. He put the toolbox he'd been using on a counter and pulled the dark coat off the rack nearby. Slipping it on, he ran a hand through his short hair as he made his way to the cockpit.

"So, how's the course, Oh Captain, my Captain?" he asked as he entered. The cockpit was enough to hold maybe a half-dozen people with consoles set all over. Han sat before the main controls with Chewbacca in the other seat. Ahead, Xander could see the strange blue and white streaks of hyperspace enfolding before them.

Han checked his readouts. "We should be reaching the rendezvous site soon. We'll get there, meet up with Jabba's contact and drop this off."

"Yet another lovely day on the Kessell Run," Xander noted as he sat in a side chair. "You used to make this sound more exciting."

"Hey, I've done this Run in under twelve parsecs," Han boasted.

Xander rolled his eyes. "Han, I know that's not that big an accomplishment. Hell, everyone's done this run in twelve parsecs! It's a rite of passage for smugglers!"

Han started as he looked at Xander. He then glared suspiciously at Chewbacca. "Chewie, what have I told you about shooting your mouth off to this kid?"

The Wookie let out a series of growls. Xander was still trying to figure out his language and so only got a few words. The bond between the human captain and his co-pilot was a bit odd. Han would usually make cracks at Chewbacca but Chewbacca still was loyal to a fault. From what Xander could understand, Han had helped Chewie out with some slavers years ago. As a result, Chewbacca had pledged himself to helping Han for the rest of his life. The two were obviously friends but needling each other was apparently their way of showing it.

"I got it off some guys at our last stop," Xander explained. "Imagine my dismay to learn your rep is actually Vanilla Ice style rap."

Han just ignored him. "Chewie, make sure the deflectors are on when we come out of hyperspace."

"You always have to have them on?" Xander asked. "It puts a strain on the power."

"So does getting shot," Han noted. "You live this long in the business, Junior, you learn to always be on the defensive."

"I know defensive," Xander claimed. "Believe me, I was defensive to the point of passiveness in high school."

"Just relax," Han stated. "We'll have this job done and get our money."

"Just how long are we going to keep doing these runs?" Xander complained.

Han shook his head as he checked the readings. "About as long as we're persona non grata on Nar Shaddaa," he sardonically stated.

Xander rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, they can't hold a grudge that long!"

"Junior, smugglers are not known for their forgiving natures," Han stated dryly. "Particularly when they're ripped off of all their stuff by the Rebel Alliance and the captain who just happened to hook them up with said Alliance."

"It wasn't your fault," Xander stressed. "You had no idea that Bira lady would suddenly say they needed funds for a mission."

"Doesn't matter, kid," Han said. "Lando and the fist to the jaw made it clear I've already been tried and convicted and if we ever step foot on the planet again, the execution part will come in. So trust me, we're looking at a long-term hold on the grudge."

Xander sat back, arms crossed. "At least promise I don't have to actually see Jabba this time. Took hours to get the smell out of my jacket."

Chewbacca grumbled and Xander managed to figure out he was saying it was even worse for a Wookie's heightened senses. Han checked the scanner and sat up. "Okay, we're coming up to the spot. Prepare for reversion, Chewie cut the sub-light engines."

The Wookie made a few touches on the console and Xander prepared himself for the engines to cut out. The ship jerked as the view ahead turned to the normal blackness and white stars of outer space. No matter how many times he had seen it in the last few months, it still took a while for Xander to realize he was in space.

"Okay, Chewie, set her in an orbit around that moon, we can-----" Han's orders were cut off as a loud beeping sounded through the cockpit. "Oh, hell," Xander muttered. "Danger, Will Robinson time!"

He spun his chair over to check out the consoles and the radar. He swallowed hard. "We've got an Imperial frigate! Twenty parsecs off the right and closing in fast!"

At that moment, a loud squawking sound came off the communicator and a clipped voice spoke. "Unidentified frigate. You have entered a restricted system. Our weapons are locked onto you. Heave to and prepare to be boarded. Any attempt at resistance will result in severe consequences."

"They forgot the 'Have a nice day,'" Xander muttered. "Now what?"

Han strummed his fingers on the console, thinking fast. "Boss?" Xander pressed. "They come on and they find that spice, we're screwed. I don't know about you two but I don't want to find out what the intergalactic equivalent of _Oz_ is like."

Han was quiet before letting out a breath. "Dump it."

Xander blinked, not sure if he'd heard right. "What?"

"Dump the spice. Now."

Chewie let out a bark of surprise as Xander stared at Han. "Han, all that spice…"

"Is only going to make our sentence longer," Han snapped. "We've only got a couple of minutes before they're in rang enough to see what we're doing. Get to it!"

Xander unhooked his belt and raced to the main hold. He reached the console by the main hold, punching in codes. He took a deep breath and then hit the final key. There was the sound of metal scraping back as the storage compartment doors on the bottom hull opened. Then a lurch as the packets of spice fell out into space and floated away as the _Falcon _kept going. Xander waited a few moments before retracting the doors. He hit a nearby communicator and spoke. "It's gone, boss."

"Good," Han said. "Okay, I'm bringing us to a stop. Time for plan E."

"Gotcha," Xander nodded as he stripped his jacket off and grabbed his toolbox. He headed off, fighting off the horrible images of becoming a Gamorrean's bitch.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Han tried to put on his best calm and charming smile as the door to the ship opened. He could see the connecting tube linking the _Falcon_ to the Imperial frigate. A quartet of Stormtroopers in full armor stood behind a thin man in an Imperial uniform. The officer glared at Han and gave a harder glance at the Wookie beside him. "Are you the captain of this…vessel?" he asked in a hard tone.

"Han Solo, this is my co-pilot, Chewbacca. So, to what do we owe this honor?"

The officer entered with his men. "We are on the lookout for any smugglers in this region. As such, I have the authority to search any ships entering this system."

"Fine by me," Han said. "Search away."

The officer nodded to the troopers, who quickly started to spread out around the ship. He focused on Han. "What is your business here, Captain?"

"I fly for hire," Han explained. "I was going to meet a guy on Dantooine about a courier job. We had to make a stop for some repairs."

"Hey, boss?" The three turned to see Xander walking up, his face and clothes stained with grease and other oils. "I think I got the hyperdrive fixed. We're probably going to need to take a look at the motivators next time we stop for repair work."

Han frowned. "I thought you said those things were good for a month!"

"That was seven weeks ago, Boss."

The officer wasn't really paying attention as the Stormtroopers began to return. The leader shook his head and the officer nodded. "You may complete your repairs, Captain and then be on your way. We shall still be tracking you so be sure you do not delay." He spun on his heel and headed out the tube as the troopers followed.

As soon as the door shut, all three let out a long breath. "We really do need to get those motivators checked," Xander remarked.

"We'll worry about that later," Han said as he headed back to the cockpit. "Right now, we've got a bigger problem."

"Meaning that with the fuzz watching, we can't go back for the spice," Xander figured out.

"Bingo," Han noted. "Which means Jabba is not going to be happy with us at all."

Chewbacca made a few growls, which Xander figured out meant words of encouragement. "Maybe," Han said. "Come on, we might as well get started for Tatooine. The sooner we explain this to him, the better."

"Somehow, I can't help but feel it's gonna be for the worse," Xander said as he followed Han.

"What makes you say that, Junior?"

"Experience, Oh Captain, my captain," Xander said with a tired sigh. "Sad, sad experience."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Next: We really do go back and focus on Willow's own adventures. **


	7. Black Knight, White Princess, Red Pawn

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Black Knight, White Princess, Red Pawn

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The _Tantive IV_ wasn't the largest cruiser in the Alderaan fleet. It was long in design, colored totally white with large engines in the rear larger than the actual ship body. It was a simple counselor vessel, no obvious signs of being used for any other purpose. Thus, it was the perfect ship to do some spywork on.

"I still don't know about this," Willow mused. She stared at the viewport on the bridge of the ship. She was behind Leia, who stood next to Captain Antilles. Antilles was a tall man in his forties, dressed in a brown uniform with the white helmets common to the soldiers on the ship.

"I have to agree with her, Princess," Antilles said. "We're going to be very close to an Imperial outpost, close enough for them to catch what we're doing."

"It will only be a few moments," Leia said. "We'll simply stop in place long enough to intercept the transmission. If the Imperials question us, you can simply say we're making temporary repairs."

Antilles shook his head. "This is a restricted system, Princess. Our diplomatic immunity will not matter to them."

"I am a princess and an Imperial Senator," Leia said. "They will have to allow me to pass."

"With all respect, your Highness," Antilles carefully began.

"Funny, any time someone begins a sentence saying 'with all respect,' what follows is sorta disrespectful," Willow noted.

Antilles went on. "The Rebel situation has made the Empire take some…liberties with the law."

"From what I can tell, liberty and the Emprie haven't really gone hand in hand before," Willow stated.

Leia shook her head. "Captain, I know this is dangerous but our task is far too important. The Alliance needs these plans."

Antilles sighed. "Very well, Princess." He cleared his throat and spoke up. "All personnel are to leave this area immediately. Retire to the alternate command center but leave your stations on automatic."

The various soldiers and technicians quickly headed out, leaving the trio alone. "At least if things go wrong, they won't know anything," Antilles noted.

There was a beeping at the door and the three looked over to see a tall golden droid and a squat rotund blue and white model enter. "Looks like the droids are here," Willow observed.

"Greetings, Captain," the golden droid said. "I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations and it is an honor to be able to work with you again-----" The other droid let out a series of beeps. "Oh and this is my subordinate, Artoo-Detoo." The smaller droid squawked at that.

Antilles frowned. "Threepio, you're a protocol droid. What're you doing hooked up with a maintenance worker?"

"Ah, well, there turned out to be little use for interpreter droids on this trip, sir."

Antilles nodded. "All right. Let's begin." He motioned to Leia. "Do you recognize her?"

"Of course, sir. That is Princess Leia Organa , representative of Alderaan in the Imperial Senate."

"This is a command/control instruction. You are both to restrict and protect all references to the presence of the Princess and her handmaiden on this vessel. She is designated a command/control voice."

"Understood, sir."

"Will that be enough?" Willow asked.

"They'll do anything to resist Imperial probes, even self-destruct if need be," Antilles answered.

Nodding, Leia moved to Artoo. "I want you to leave the ship through the emergency airlock. Make your way down the hull to the ship's navi-computer sensor suite. Position yourself exactly as if you're making repairs. Got it?"

The droid beeped in reply. Antilles was checking the nearby screen. "We should be coming out of hyperspace in a few moments."

Willow let out a long breath. "Here goes everything."

The ship shuddered as the viewscreens showed the normal stars of space. Artoo entered the nearby airlock, which shut behind him. Threepio was holding a small communicator to keep in touch with him. "Artoo has reached the hull, Captain."

Antilles nodded as Willow tapped a foot impatiently on the deck, trying to keep herself calm. A beeping sound came from the main communicator and Leia moved to it. "That's the contact," she breathed. She began to enter in some keys. "It's encrypted, let me get the code punched in…"

There was static and then a voice, electronically distorted, burst over the speakers of the bridge. "Come in, Skyhook! Come in!"

"Skyhook here," Leia answered.

"We have only moments. Are you ready?"

"Begin transmission," Leia stated.

"On its way." A burst of high-pitched static and beeps came in. Willow moved over to look at the information coming in. "Looks like it's specially coded," she stated. "I'm guessing the main Alliance base will have the encryption keys but this is a good way to make sure it's safe for now."

Leia glanced at her with mild surprise and Willow made a sheepish smile. "I…know something about computers."

"You keep showing more skills," Leia noted with a smile.

"Oh, you have no idea," Willow muttered.

They were interrupted by a loud beeping from another console. Antilles moved to check it and cursed. "An Imperial cruiser. They've found us already!"

"We still need a few minutes!" Willow called out from the computer.

The loudspeakers filled with an important sounding voice. "_Unidentified ship, this is the Imperial cruiser Devastator. Heave to at once and prepare for search and interrogation!"_

Antilles activated the communicator to reply. "This is the _Tantive IV_. We have an extravehicular malfunction. We have a maintence droid working on it now."

_"Stand by."_

Threepio spoke up. "Oh dear!" He turned to the two women. "Artoo states that he is being scanned by the other ship!"

"_Devastator, _we are a counselor ship on a diplomatic mission and will leave the area as soon as we have completed repairs."

There was a pause before the Imperial commander spoke again. _"Acknowledged, Tantive. We shall hold our fire. Do not deviate from your course and prepare to receive a search party."_

"Got it!" Willow cried out as the datacard ejected from the computer.

Antilles spoke quickly. _"Devastator,_ we are on an important mission and cannot be delayed for any reason!" Switching the communicator off, he quickly pushed another button. "Alternate command center, get us into hyperdrive as soon as you can!"

"Artoo, get inside, quickly!" Threepio urged into the communicator.

The loudspeaker burst forth, the officer's voice much more serious. _"Tantive IV, we have detected transmissions being beamed to your ship! Heave to or we shall open fire!"_

"Artoo has reached the airlock!" Threepio called out.

"Antilles, we have to go!" Leia cried.

"Command, get us hyperdrive, NOW!" Antilles yelled into the communicator.

The ship took a sudden lurch as the hyperdrive engines kicked in and the stars outside became blue and white streaks.

"We got the plans," Leia said as she took the datacard from Willow. "Captain, set a course for Tatooine."

Antilles did a double-take. "Tatooine? That's all the way out in the border regions."

"I have to go," Leia stated. "I'm to bring a message from my father and we'll be taking on an most important personage."

"Important? Tatooine?" Antilles shook his head as he started to walk out. "That's about the least important planet in the Empire."

Willow looked to the airlock where Artoo was exiting, Threepio fretting over him. "What about the droids?"

Leia sighed. "I suppose we'll have to have their memories wiped. Antilles can handle that when we get back."

Willow nodded. "I guess. You ok?"

Leia nodded. "It was a bit stressful." She looked to Willow. "You seemed to handle it well."

Willow made a small smile. "I've, um, had some experience with stressful stuff."

Leia gave her a look before starting to walk away. "I need to lie down for a bit before we reach Tatooine."

"I'll let you know when we're coming there," Willow intoned. She watched Leia leave and nodded at the droids. "You two keep out of trouble until we need you again."

"We shall be recharging, my lady," Threepio said as Willow walked off.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Willow stepped onto the bridge, which was a bit larger than she expected for a ship this size. Soldiers and technicians moved around, all in the nice white helmets of the fleet. Antilles was at the raised platform at the middle of the bridge, talking to an aide. He nodded at Willow as she entered. "Where's the princess?"

"She was taking a quick nap," Willow replied. "She'll be up here soon."

Antilles nodded. "We're making our reversion into regular space. We'll be coming out right over Tatooine's orbit."

"Good," Willow said. "The sooner we get who we need, the better."

Antilles glanced over at her. "Are you worried about this mission?"

Willow nodded. "I can't shake the feeling something can go wrong. It's just such an important job and the Imperials are going to be coming after us."

"All we can do is our best to avoid them," Antilles stated. "Luckily, this is a remote system so any Imperial presence will be low."

The door behind them slid open and Leia entered, rubbing at her eyes. "Willow, you should have woken me up earlier."

"You needed your sleep," Willow argued. "You've been up since we started the trip."

"Yes, but…."

"My job is to make sure you're okay," Willow interrupted. "As far as I'm concerned, that was part of it."

Leia smiled with some gratitude toward the young woman. Antilles looked ahead and spoke up. "Prepare for reversion."

The ship rumbled as it came out of hyperspace. The viewscreen showed a planet ahead that appeared to be a large yellow marble. "There it is," Antilles announced. "Tatooine. As inhospitable a place as humans ever settled on." He glanced over at the pilots. "Prepare our approach at-----"

There was a loud beeping from a sensor station nearby. "Sir!" the technician at it called out. "A ship just appeared out of hyperspace behind us!"

"Sir, we're being hailed!" the communication officer chimed in.

The loudspeakers crackled and a familiar voice came in. _"Tantive IV, this is the Devastator. You will heave to now and prepare to be boarded!"_

"The _Devastator!"_ Leia gasped. "But that's the ship from before! How did they find us?"

Antilles was firing out orders. "Sound battle stations! Have all troopers armed! Issue a priority call to Alderaan!"

"They're already jamming our transmissions, sir!" the communication officer called out.

"Arm all guns!" Antilles yelled. "Navigation station, prepare to get us out of here! I don't care what course, just get the engines up!"

"Can we make Tatooine?" Leia asked.

"We'll be lucky to get out of here without being captured, Princess," the captain responded. "Navigation, tell the engine room-------"

The entire ship shook suddenly, Leia and Willow thrown to the side. Willow grasped the controls for support as she watched everyone on the bridge react to the blow of a laser cannon. "Great, I'm in a _Star Trek _episode now," she muttered as she helped Leia up. "I think that was there idea of a warning shot."

"Evasive maneuvers!" Antilles shouted. "All weapons open fire!" The ship began to move in a straight line and Willow could hear the echoes of the cannons firing at whatever craft was following them. "As soon as you can, get ready to-----"

The rest of Antilles' orders were lost in another explosion, this one bigger than before, shaking the ship harder. "Sir, direct hit to the solar fin!" an officer called out. "Reactor and main drive heading toward critical!"

Antilles cursed before speaking. "Shut them down."

"Antilles!" Leia gasped.

"It's that or have the ship break itself apart, your Highness." As the engines shut down, Antilles turned to her. "Your Highness, you need to destroy the data tape before they find the evidence."

Leia instinctively clutched the tape in her robe. "No! This cost too many lives!" She looked about, biting her lip. "We need to delay them as long as we can."

Antilles was grim. "Princess, those are going to be heavily armed and trained Stormtroopers. My men are not in that league."

"It's that or the Rebellion is lost," Leia intoned.

Antilles stared at her then bowed his head. "Issue orders to arm all crewmembers," he announced. "Repel all boarders."

There was a flurry of activity as technicians and officers raced to grab weapons and get to stations. Antilles made his way over to Leia and Willow. "I don't know how much time that can buy."

"Is there any way to get the tapes off the ship?" Leia asked.

"They've jammed our communications and they'll blast any pod leaving with anyone inside," Antilles stated.

"Maybe one of the crew can conceal it," Willow suggested.

Antilles' expression grew sour. "The only way the _Devastator_ could have followed us was by a homing beacon. We can't trust anyone with the tapes."

Willow was looking out at the main viewscreen. "Um…are they pulling us in?"

Antilles and Leia looked out to see the stars moving downward and the beginnings of a metal roof of some sort. "They're tractoring us in," Antilles stated. "Your Highness, once again, I urge you to destroy that tape."

"I can't, it's-----" Leia stopped as an idea struck her. "Those droids…they can smuggle the tapes out!"

Antilles shook his head in disbelief. "Your highness, a droid? You want to put the entire future of the Rebellion in the hands of a droid?"

"There's no other way," Leia said. "If you shoot off some escape pods now, it'll make it look less suspicious when I get the droids off."

"It's the only way, Antilles," Willow urged.

He bit his lip before sighing. "All right, all right. Take the portside compartment aft, it'll lead to the labor pool." He pulled out his blaster and handed it to Leia. "Take this. Go."

Leia and Willow quickly walked to the compartment Antilles had indicated. Willow paused and looked over to him. Somehow, she couldn't rid herself of the chilling idea that she was not going to see this man ever again. "Thank you, Antilles," she whispered before following Leia out.

They heard the sound of blaster fire as soon as they had hit the secondary corridors. Leia kept on going to the motor pool as Willow followed her. They were crossing a branch when a blaster bolt echoed over their heads. They both yelped and backed up as a trio of soldiers fired back at the hallway. Willow could see the white armor of the Imperial troops, making them look like automatons as they continued to fire.

"Get to the labor pool!" Willow yelled to Leia. "I'll meet you there!"

"What are you going to do?" Leia asked.

"Just go!" Willow yelled out. Leia scampered to her feet and started to run to the corridor. Willow took a deep breath to center herself. She rose to her feet and waved her hands forward as she whispered under her breath. The pipes over the stormtroopers suddenly burst open, steam blasting down on them. The troopers yelled out as they felt the heat through their armor. Seeing the opportunity, the crewmen opened fire to cut them down.

Willow felt a burst of guilt over causing those men's direct deaths. But then another part of her spoke, reminding her that they were ready to kill her and everyone else on this ship. This was a different galaxy and you had to fight to survive. She'd mourn later, for now, she had to get going.

She raced into the main hallway, choking on the smoke filling it. She started as she saw the bodes of several men around, some in white armor but the majority the _Tantive_ crewmen in various poses of death. Swallowing, Willow moved to get to the nearest compartment leading to the labor pool

She saw a shadow on the other end of the hallway and looked down. Through the haze and the smoke, she saw a figure striding forward. He was tall, dressed completely in black armor with a long cape. Willow shuddered all over. Not at the man's appearance but the aura he let out. Willow had clashed with a lot of demons but the pure…evil this man gave out rolled at her like a tidal wave. It was as if he sucked in all the goodness around him and turned it into darkness.

Fear drove her to turn and run to the nearest corridor as soon as she could. Willow tried to keep her breathing even as she headed along, not sure if it was minutes or hours she was running. She finally came to an open area with several cylinder-shaped openings spread about. It took her a moment to realize she was in the escape pod bay and realized she'd taken a wrong turn.

She heard a sound nearby and immediately ducked into the first open pod. She closed her eyes and tried to keep her breathing tight. A desperate idea came to her. It required her doing something she'd never managed to get right before. Then again, fear was a terrific motivator.

"Hear my call, hear my plea, let me be unheard, let me be unseen….hear my call, hear my plea, let me be unheard, let me be unseen…hear my call, hear my plea…." She let herself touch that strange form of energy that imbued this galaxy and power the spell. She kept her eyes closed and thus didn't see how her body seemed to shimmer and then vanish from sight.

She was concentrating hard and thus didn't hear the argument of an electronic voice and a series of whistles. She felt a bit of bumping nearby but didn't see Artoo roll into the pod, followed by Threepio. "I'm going to regret this," the golden droid was muttering as the door closed behind him.

Willow's eyes opened as she felt the pod lurch and shoot outside. She quickly closed them, trying to keep the spell going as long as she could and hoped it could fool the electronic eye as well as the naked one.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"There goes another one," a gunner said on board the Star Destroyer. He was already moving the gun into position to fire upon it just as they had with the other pods escaping.

"Hold your fire," his commander said. He glanced at the scanner. For a moment, he could have sworn there was a reading but now nothing. "There's no life signs. It must have been a short circuit." There was no reason to fire upon it. They had already used up energy on the cannons subduing the rebel craft, they didn't have to waste any more. He leaned back and listened the reports of the capture going beneath him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Willow's eyes opened as she looked up and saw the viewport before her. It showed the Destroyer overhead, the _Tantive IV_ caught in its hanger bay. Willow suppressed a shiver as she prayed that Leia had gotten to some sort of safety. The two droids were too busy watching the view to notice her.

"Are you sure you know how to fly this?" Threepio asked.

Artoo whistled in reply.

"Reading the manuals does not make you a pilot!" the golden droid snapped. He turned and started as he saw Willow behind him. "Oh! Mistress Willow, where did you come from?"

Willow made a small smile. "Oh, just wanted to visit the planet, that's all."

"I see," the golden droid said. He looked to Artoo, who was manipulating the controls with an attachment from his body. "How close are we to landing?"

Artoo whistled. "That soon?" Threepio said. "What about the landing engines?"

Artoo whistled again. "What? What do you mean, non-functioning?" He looked to Willow. "I apologize, madam, but I'm afraid this landing is going to be rather rough."

Willow swallowed as she braced herself against the sides of the pod for support. She could feel the heat as the pod entered orbit. She felt the shaking as it hit the atmosphere, blasting the pod with wind. She felt the blasting shake as the pod hit a dune, bouncing on the ground. She felt a sharp pain as her head slammed on the pod wall.

And then she felt nothing else.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Next: We get back to present times as the quest truly begins.**


	8. Jedi That Was, Jedi To Be

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Jedi That Was, Jedi to Be

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So I woke up in the pod and the droids had left already, it was getting really hot, I had to get going, their tracks split off so I tried to follow one and got lost in the canyon and then I was getting a bit freaked but then Ben showed up and-----"

Willow's speech was cut off as Buffy let out a loud laugh. "God, I missed your babbling!" the Slayer said before giving her friend another hug. They were in the small main room of Kenobi's home, Willow having given a quick rundown of how she'd landed on Tatooine. The previous minutes had been spent with both hugging and squealing loudly, jumping up and down in each other's arms, ecstatic to see the other alive.

Threepio made a slight metallic cough. "I must apologize for leaving you behind, Mistress Willow but I was not made for manual labor such as that. Also, Artoo was becoming quite adamant that we get going as fast as possible for his 'mission.'" The droid was seated on a chair with Luke beside him, using some tools to reattach his arm. Kenobi was in a seat next to Luke, taking in the scene with what looked to be amusement.

"It's okay, Threepio," Willow smiled. "It turned out even better than I expected."

"So, you're Willow," Luke said as he screwed in a bolt on the droid. "Buffy mentioned you a couple of times. Her best friend who was a 'prime hacker' whatever that means."

"Aw, go on," Buffy said, waving her hand as she and Willow sat down together.

"I did suspect there was more to you than met the eye," Kenobi spoke up to Willow. "I did not want to press it after your journey but this connection to Luke's friend is interesting to say the least."

"You seem pretty interested in Luke," Buffy noted. "He told me how you helped him out years back and you found us pretty fast when we were nearby." She threw a glance around. "Not to mention you've got a pretty advanced set of tools for-----"

"For an old hermit?" Kenobi smiled. "Solitude does not equal ignorance, my dear. The house is all I require, food and shelter and comfort. I prefer to live simply with what I need to survive. That is the Jedi's creed."

"Jedi?" Luke stopped his work to turn to Ben. "Wait…you were a Jedi Knight?"

"You find that so impossible to believe?" the elder man noted with a sly tone.

"Well…" Luke shrugged. "It's just, I've heard the stories of the Jedi Knights and what they can do…"

"Ah, and I suppose I don't much look the part right now?" Kenobi nodded. "Truth to tell, that's partly be design. Nonetheless, I was a Jedi Knight, the same," he casually added. "As your father."

Luke started. "My father? No, he couldn't have been."

"Luke, he and I served in the Clone Wars together."

Luke shook his head. "No, no, my father didn't fight in the War. He was a navigator on a spice freighter!"

"That's what your uncle told you," Kenobi said. "He didn't hold to your father's ideas, thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved."

As Luke finished connecting Threepio's arm, Willow pressed in. "You fought in the Clone Wars?"

Kenobi nodded. "Yes. I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as Luke's father."

Luke was solemn as he put his tools down. "I wish I'd known him."

"I can see much of him in you," Kenobi said with some pride. "I first met him as a small boy, right here on Tatooine many years ago. I was part of a…party forced to land here during a mission. My own Jedi teacher, Qui-Gon Jinn, recognized the potential in Anakin and brought him for training. Qui-Gon…died shortly after so it fell upon me to train your father."

Luke was enthralled as Ben smiled slightly. "He was already an excellent pilot, the only human to win a pod race. He soon became the best star pilot in the galaxy and a cunning warrior." The smiles faded slightly. "And he was a good friend." He shook himself as he rose up. "Which reminds me, I have something for you."

"Sir, if you don't need me, I'll be shutting down," Threepio said.

"Sure, go ahead," Luke said but his attention was drawn to Ben. The old man was rummaging through a nearby chest. "You father wanted you to have this," he said as he pushed a few items aside. "But your uncle wouldn't allow it. He was afraid you'd follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade like your father did."

He finally rose, holding what looked like a cylinder of some sort. It had a smooth handle grip and a set of buttons on it. "What is it?" Luke asked.

"Your father's lightsaber," Ben said as he handed it over. "This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster."

Luke held the cylinder out and thumbed a switch. Instantly, a blade of solid light sprang out. It was colored blue, shimmering as Luke swung it back and forth, each swing brining a unique humming sound as it cut through the air. Willow and Buffy were just as impressed, each instinctively knowing that this seemingly innocent light probably was able to cut through solid rock…or a person.

"Careful," Kenobi carefully said as Luke let the saber flash about. "It flows much easier than you'd expect. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age."

From Willow had heard, the Clone Wars weren't exactly what you'd call civilized. She held her tongue, however, as Ben sat down, gazing into space. "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic." His face grew grave as his voice dropped. "Before the dark times. Before the Empire." He stared out as if seeing that darkness sweep over once again.

Luke turned the lightsaber off and sat down. He paused before leaning forward to Kenobi. "Ben…how did my father die?"

It was clear that Kenobi did not want to answer that question. He seemed to gather his thoughts before speaking in a somber tone. "It's not a story that can be told simply or easily, Luke. Suffice to say, a young Jedi named Vader…who, like your father, was a pupil of mine, before he turned to evil…helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights." He gazed right at Luke. "He betrayed and murdered your father."

Luke was naturally silent at that as was Willow. Buffy however, was studying Ben closely and saw a bit of hesitation that made her realize there was more to the story than the old man was telling. She didn't get a chance to speak as Kenobi went on. "With Vader's aid, Palpatine turned the Republic into an Empire. The Jedi were branded as outlaws and hunted down. Twenty-five thousand years of history wiped out in almost a single day. Those who survived the initial attacks were soon hunted by Vader and those under his command. Now, the Jedi are all but extinct."

"How?" Willow asked softly. "How could a Jedi do that to his own kind?"

"Vader was seduced," Ben stated. "By the Dark Side of the Force."

"The Force?" Luke asked.

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power," Kenobi said, a bit brighter now. "It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, it binds the universe together."

Willow perked up at that. This "Force" sounded like the strange energy she'd been feeling whenever she tried to use her magic. She made a note to try to learn more about it from Ben later on. Buffy was coughing in her hand. "I hate to interrupt but there's still the reason we came here in the first place."

"Ah, yes, of course." Kenobi moved to Artoo. "Well, my little friend, let's see just what was so important." He began to fiddle with the droid's domed head.

"I saw part of the message," Luke began.

"I seem to have found it," Ben interrupted as the holoprojector turned on. Once again, the image shown of that young woman but this time, it was clear and from the start.

"General Kenobi. Years ago, you served with my father in the Clone Wars. Now, he begs you to help in the struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request in person but my ship has fallen under attack and I fear my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the security of the Rebellion in the memory banks of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely to Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." As before, she looked behind her, then bent down and the image vanished.

A silence filled the room as everyone took in what they'd seen. "Who is she?" Luke asked, still struck by the young woman's beauty.

"The Princess Leia Organa," Willow answered. "Of the Royal House of Alderaan and a member of the Imperial Senate."

"She is also a high ranking member of the Rebel Alliance," Kenobi intoned. As Willow stared at him in shock, he smiled. "Her father and I are old friends. I keep abreast of anything involving the struggle against the Empire."

"So now what?" Buffy asked.

Kenobi thought about it before looking to Luke. "You must learn the ways of the Force, Luke, if you're to come with me to Alderaan."

Luke was thrown. "Alderaan?" He laughed. "I'm not going to Alderaan! I'm late, I have to get home, I'm in for it as it is!"

"I need your help, Luke," Kenobi urged. "She needs your help." He ruefully shook his head. "I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."

Luke shook his head as he stood up. "I can't get involved, Ben. It's not that I support the Empire, I hate it but…there's nothing I can do about it."

"That's your uncle talking."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh, my uncle. How am I ever going to explain this to him?"

"Learn the ways of the Force, Luke," Kenobi pressed.

Luke thought about it before sighing. "I can give you a ride to Anchorhead. You can get a transport to Mos Eisley or wherever."

Kenobi stared off, not with disappointment but acceptance. "You must do what you think is right, of course."

"What I think is right? Ben, I'd love to help you, to help her! But I can't just leave Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru like this! They're all the family I've known, Ben, I don't want anything to happen to them. If that's not right…well, then I'd rather be wrong."

Kenobi nodded. "Yes, of course. Sometimes even the best intentions can be contradictory."

Seeing the tension, Willow piped up. "Well, I'm going with you, Mr. Kenobi. Leia's my friend and I am her handmaiden so it's my duty to help her out."

Buffy looked at her friend, then to Luke. The young man was staring at her with some sadness. "You're going with her," he stated, not as a question but a fact.

Buffy nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, Luke. You knew I wasn't planning on staying on this planet for a really long time."

Luke sighed and kicked at the ground. "Just like Biggs…everyone else gets to get off this rock but me."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said, meaning it. "I really am. But Willow and Ben could use the help. She's my friend."

Luke let out a long sigh. "I guess we'd better get going there. I need to get back home and come up with some excuse for Uncle Owen."

Kenobi nodded as he rose to his feet. "Very well. Let us be off then."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kenobi apparently needed very little from his home. Only the smallest pouch containing a few items and what appeared to be a lightsaber of his own. He sat in the front seat of the speeder, Buffy and Willow in the rear and the droids tied to the engine area.

"I'm sorry I can't be too long, Ben," Luke called over the hum of the speeder. "But I need to get these droids to work soon before------"

"Luke," Ben carefully said. "I'm afraid the droids must come with me."

Luke turned to him in shock. "What? But they cost my uncle------"

"Artoo is needed for the data and Threepio has seen too much," Kenobi said. "I shall leave what you tell your uncle to your conscience. But keep in mind that the Empire will go to any lengths to get these droids and your uncle and aunt could be in danger."

"Oh," Luke said. "Okay, I'll think of something then. Maybe the Jawas managed to get them back or the Raiders."

"Quick question," Buffy said. "How come Threepio didn't tell us who Leia was when we first saw the hologram?"

"I apologize for that, Mistress Buffy," Threepio spoke up. "But I was under command orders to restrict all knowledge of the Princess' identity. Having Mistress Willow here does make that command void."

Buffy nodded as she looked over the horizon. She stopped and pointed to a spot in the distance. "Hey, there's some smoke over there."

The others looked, Kenobi nodding. "Yes…head that way, Luke. Someone may be in trouble." Luke turned the speeder in that direction and moved it fast.

It took a few minutes to reach a Jawa sandcrawler. Or to be more exact, what remained of a sandcrawler. Smoke rose from its hull, which was marked with burns and blasted plates, the treads broken. The brown-robed bodies of Jawas were scattered all over. Luke brought the speeder to a halt as the group piled out, Buffy helping Artoo and Threepio down.

"The poor creatures," Kenobi said with a sigh. "Their lives were arduous enough without having to die in such a horrific fashion."

"See any survivors?" Buffy asked as he looked at the bodies.

Luke shook his head. "No…someone wanted to make sure these Jawas didn't survive. A couple of them were shot two or three times at close range."

Willow shook her head, dismayed at what she saw. "Who would do this?"

"The suspect pool is thin to say the least," Buffy said as she held up a gaffi stick.

Luke shook his head. "I don't know…"

Buffy stared at him. "Are you kidding?" She pointed at the ground. "We've got bantha tracks, the sticks, you might as well hang up a sign saying it was Raiders!"

"I know, I know," Luke agreed. "But it's just…I've never heard of them hitting anything this big before."

"They didn't." Everyone turned to see Kenobi pacing before the sandcrawler, his face assured. "But we are meant to think they did. These bantha tracks are side by side. Sandpeople always ride single file to hide their numbers."

"These are the same Jawas that sold us Artoo and Threepio," Luke said, examining one Jawa. "I recognize the clan insignia on this one."

Kenobi motioned to the treads. "And these blast points. Too accurate for Sandpeople. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise."

"But…why would Imperial troops kill Jawas?" Willow asked.

"And Sandpeople," Luke added. "They had to kill some Raiders in order to get the Banthas." He looked at the bodies and then his gaze met Buffy's. She had the same chilling shock in her eyes as she made the same connection. "If they figured out these are the same Jawas that had the droids…"

"They'd find out who they sold them to," Buffy said.

"And that'll lead them back…"

"Home." They turned and raced to the landspeeder. "Luke!" Kenobi called out. "Wait, Luke, it's too dangerous!" They both ignored him, leaping into the speeder and taking off at high speed toward the direction of the farm.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The smoke could be seen from a mile away and Buffy knew right then. But she kept quiet as Luke pulled the speeder to a stop before the farm. A column of black mist roared from the central area, the garage engulfed. Luke hopped out as he yelled. "Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!"

Buffy was behind him, her face drawn as she saw what he didn't at first. It took a moment before Luke saw it too. A pair of skeletal figures that had once been human beings lying on the steps before the house, what little flesh there was left smoking.

Luke stood there, staring in shock as Buffy came up behind him. Her own face was drawn as she bit her lip, raging with grief. Beru had been a true friend to her since she came to Tatooine, reminding her so much of her mother. And while she and Owen may not have gotten along, she never wished a fate like this on him.

They stood there, watching the farm burn, united in grief and a growing rage for justice.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kenobi's pride didn't prevent him from tying a cloth around his mouth to block out the smell of smoke and burning flesh. He watched as Threepio did his best to lower another Jawa body on the fire pit Willow had helped him create. The redhead stood at the side, still obviously queasy but trying to stay calm. He saw her look off and turned to see the speeder return. One look at Buffy and Luke's faces told him what had happened.

Buffy got out first, walking forward, her face tight. Kenobi could feel the waves of anger coming off her and spoke up. "Do not let the anger take you, Buffy. The Force—"

"Damn your Force!" Buffy yelled. "You weren't there! You didn't see those bodies!"

Kenobi's eyes filled with a sudden coldness that gave Buffy chills and when he spoke, the kindness in his voice was gone. "Child. I have seen more battles and more deaths than a man my age should. I held the body of my teacher, a man who had been a second father to me, in my arms as he died. I have felt the deaths of fellow Jedi in the Force. I saw a man I had trained since he was a boy betray all he once stood for. I know death, Buffy. And I know you cannot lose yourself to anger or grief or those deaths will be in vain."

Buffy bit her lip but kept her voice strong. "I once had the man I loved become a monster who killed a friend of mine. So yeah, I know how it is."

Kenobi nodded. "I can see that." He was ready to say more but broke off as Luke came up to them. The young man's face was blank, still reeling from what he had seen. Kenobi spoke, once more in the kind tones. "There was nothing you could have done, Luke, had you been there. You would have been killed too and the droids would now be in the hands of the Empire."

Luke slowly brought his face up and spoke in a voice that carried more strength than Buffy had ever heard from him before. "I'm coming with you to Alderaan, Ben." He motioned around. "There's nothing here for me. I want to learn the ways of the force and be a Jedi like my father."

Kenobi let out a sad sigh. "I'm sorry your decision had to come in this fashion, my son. I would much rather have gone on along than have this happen." He nodded. "But to Alderaan then…and the ways of the Jedi."

Willow moved to Buffy and gave her friend a supportive hug. "You ok?"

Buffy nodded. "I will be. Provided somewhere along the way, we get a chance to kick the ass of whoever did this."

Willow smiled. "That's the Slayer we all know and love." The two managed smiles as they joined the two men in preparing for their journey.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx**

**Next: The hive of scum and villainy. **


	9. Finding the Right Charter

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Finding the Right Charter

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The ride to Mos Eisley was naturally quiet. Luke was driving, more to have something to do than anything else, he and Buffy still reeling from what had happened. Kenobi sat in the front seat, stoically watching as Willow sat in the rear with the Slayer. The droids simply sat at the back, calm and quiet.

Willow finally cleared her throat as she spoke. "Um, Mr. Kenobi?"

"You can call me Obi-Wan," the man said. "It is my real name. I simply selected Ben as an alias."

Willow nodded as she continued. "Well…Obi-Wan…I was just wondering about these Jedi. From what I heard, they were a real force, thousands of them all over the galaxy. I just…how could they just get wiped out like that?"

Luke seemed to stir at that question. "I have to admit, Ben, I thought the same thing. I thought the Jedi were unbeatable."

"So did we," Kenobi said with a sad sigh. "And in the end, it was just that attitude that became our undoing." He crossed his arms and looked back at the two girls. "We were pulled into a war we had no business fighting. It wasn't until it was far, far too late that we realized it was all a plot by the Sith."

"The Sith?" Buffy asked.

"The Sith are the opposite of the Jedi," Kenobi stated. "They gain their power from the Dark Side of the Force, they seek power and will do anything for it. We had believed they were finally destroyed a thousand years ago." His face darkened. "In truth, they merely hid, establishing a rule that there would only be two at a time, a master and an apprentice."

"The Sith were involved in the Clone Wars?" Willow asked.

"They were _behind_ the Clone Wars," Kenobi revealed. "I have spent the last several years trying to piece together clues and the truth has finally become clear to me. Palpatine is actually Darth Sidious, the current Sith Lord. Count Dooku, the leader of the Separist Movement, was his apprentice."

Buffy frowned. Her knowledge of the Clone Wars was skimpy to say the least but Willow had learned more of it on Alderaan and her eyes widened. "I didn't know that! It's not in the official histories!"

"Fancy that," Kenobi noted with a slight smile. "I would imagine the Empire would keep that quiet. Trust me, though, Dooku was a Sith, I fought him enough to know that."

Buffy let out a whistle. "No wonder the Clone Wars dragged so long. They were helping to run the whole thing together!"

Kenobi nodded. "Yes. The true purpose of the Wars was to help Palpatine consolidate his power, convince the Senate to do away with many of the checks and balances that had existed for generations, all while making himself a hero in the eyes of the public." He stroked his beard. "The most important reason was that it helped cull the number of Jedi while making them dependent on the clone troopers Palpatine had helped create." He let out a long breath. "When the time was right, Palpatine activated a special order to make the clones turn on the Jedi while he branded them as traitors. With the long War ending and Palpatine so popular, the Senate went along with his mandate to make the Republic stronger than ever before."

"And the Empire is born," Buffy sardonically said.

"So…there are no more Jedi?" Luke asked softly.

"Only a few escaped the initial attacks," Kenobi soberly confirmed. "Vader and his personal guard spent time hunting the survivors down. Naturally, I do not know where any surviving Jedi might be. It is safer that way."

He looked off to a nearby cliff and motioned to it. "Stop here."

Luke pulled the landspeeder to a stop. Kenobi got out and calmly walked to the cliff's edge. Luke, Willow and Buffy followed him. They looked down to see a city, huge by Tatooine standards, spread out in the valley below. "Mos Eisley spaceport," Kenobi intoned. "You will never find a more vile hive and scum and villainy." He gave a simple nod. "We must be cautious."

"You really think we can find a pilot here?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing is sure but there are many pilots here who would be willing to take on a fast job for cash. There are few questions asked and people are willing to mind their own business. It increases their life expectancy."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "Sounds like you've done this before."

Kenobi nodded. "When I was a Jedi Knight and thereafter, I often had to negotiate in…seedy areas."

Buffy nodded as she gazed down at the city. "I know some seedy places too. So let's see what ripens down there."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mos Eisley was quite larger than Anchorhead and a bit cleaner than Buffy had expected. The city followed the same architecture of most of Tatooine, with domed white buildings that made it hard to tell what was what. Willow couldn't help but stare at the beings around the streets. The alien population was much larger than on the planets she'd been to before with Leia. Even Buffy was impressed at the creatures they saw as they kept down the streets.

Luke was frowning as he looked around. "Ben, there's almost never stormtroopers on Tatooine but I've seen a few patrols going by."

Kenobi nodded. "Yes, more than I had foreseen."

"Should we try another spaceport?" Buffy asked.

Kenobi shook his head. "No, this is still our best way. Just take the side streets, Luke and try to avoid the bigger patrols."

Luke nodded as he directed the speeder down a side street. He had only gone a few blocks before they saw a small group of stormtroopers standing at an intersection. "Crap," Buffy muttered. "Maybe we should make a run for it."

"That would only complicate matters," Kenobi stated. "Keep going, Luke. We'll deal with this calmly."

Luke kept the speeder going, slowing down as the lead trooper held up his hand. The others made a slow circle around the vehicle as the captain moved up to the speeder. Willow suppressed a chill at being so close to those armored figures, wondering if any of them had been on the _Tantive_. "How long have you had these droids?"

"About three or four seasons," Luke said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"They're up for sale, if you want them," Kenobi threw in just as calmly.

The captain glanced at Buffy and Willow and then to Luke. "Let me see your identification."

Kenobi kept his gaze right on the man while his hand made a slight wave. "You don't need to see his identification," he said in a tone that suddenly seemed more powerful than usual.

"I don't need to see your identification," the captain repeated in a flat tone.

"These aren't the droids you're looking for."

"These aren't the droids we're looking for.'

"He can go about his business."

"You can go about your business," the trooper told Luke.

"Move along."

"Move along. Move along!" the trooper waved Luke on. The man was confused but didn't question it as he sped the speeder along for several blocks before pulling up before a cantina. A Jawa moved in but a glare from Buffy sent him scurrying back. "Filthy creatures!" Threepio stated.

"What was that?" Willow asked as she hopped out of the speeder. "I mean...I thought those troops had us!"

Kenobi smiled. "The Force can have a unique effect on the weak-minded. I felt it was best to get us here."

Luke glanced at the cantina. "You really think we can find ourselves a pilot here?"

Kenobi nodded. "Some of the best pilots frequent establishments such as this. But watch your step. These places can be rather rough."

"I'm ready for anything," Luke stated.

"It's what you're not ready for that you gotta watch out for," Buffy noted as they headed into the cantina.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The only real bar experience Buffy had had was with Willy's and the Bronze. She quickly realized after only a few steps that Willy's had nothing on this place.

She didn't know any of the species of aliens who were spread around the cantina in various conversations and she figured that was a good thing. She saw a brown creature with a head that looked like a hammer in one corner, a creature who looked like a werewolf and a guy in a white jumpsuit who resembled a Roswell alien. In the rear, a quartet of beings with yellow domed heads and black eyes were playing a musical number.

"Wow," Luke said. "I've never seen so many aliens in one place. Even some of the humans don't look human!"

"Just like home," Buffy said to Willow as they walked down the small steps leading into the cantina. They had just gotten to the bottom when the man behind the bar yelled out. "Hey! We don't serve their kind in here!"

Luke frowned. "What?"

The barkeeper motioned to Artoo and Threepio. "Your droids! They'll have to stay outside. We don't want them here!"

Luke was a bit taken aback but decided now was not the time to start a debate on droid rights. He turned to Threepio. "Why don't you wait by the speeder? We don't want any trouble."

"I heartedly agree, sir," Threepio quickly said.

Buffy turned to Willow. "Willow, why don't you go with them? Make sure they don't get in trouble."

"Afraid I'll get drunk?" Willow teased. "I'd remind you that I'm not the one who went all cavegirl on a beer binge."

"It was enchanted beer and you know it," Buffy fired back with a smile. "Just keep an eye on them." Willow gave a small salute as she led the droids outside. Buffy turned and followed Luke and Ben toward the bar. She and Luke found a pair of stools as Kenobi walked down the bar to a man in a flight suit of some sort.

Luke ordered a pair of drinks and smiled at Buffy. "Don't worry, it's nothing too strong."

"Glad to hear," Buffy said as she accepted the drink. She glanced to where the man Kenobi was talking to motioned to a figure behind him. The figure was almost eight feet tall, covered in brown fur with a bandolier around his shoulder. He grunted at Kenobi, who began to discuss things with him in a hushed tone.

Buffy sipped her drink as she looked to Luke. "You ok?" she softly asked.

He nodded. "I…guess it hasn't totally sunk in. Ben's right, we've got too important a job to let it effect me now. Later, when we've got the droids to safety…maybe then I can deal with it."

His sadness was clear but Buffy could also tell he'd found some sort of inner strength he'd lacked before. She was reaching to pat his shoulder when she felt herself spun around. She stared into a face that looked like a walrus as it jabbered something in a series of grunts. Buffy just stared, uncertain if she'd been threatened, complimented or proposed marriage to. She shook her head as she turned back to her drink.

Once again, she was turned around, this time looking at a man with human features, unattractive as they were. A long scar bisected his face and left him with a permanent sneer. He pointed at the walrus man and spoke. "He doesn't like you."

"Darn and I was just going to ask him out," Buffy intoned. She turned back to her drink but the man pulled her back.

"I don't like you either," he said. "You watch yourself. We're wanted men!" He thumbed a finger right on Buffy's chest. "I've got the death sentence on twelve systems!"

"And you'll have four fingers on that one hand if you thump me again," Buffy warned him.

"We'll be careful," Luke said from behind her as he rose from his seat.

"You'll be dead!" the man hissed dangerously.

Kenobi was suddenly there, speaking in a calm tone. "These little ones aren't worth the trouble. Come, let me get you all-----"

The man pushed Buffy aside. Luke moved in to help but the man shoved him back too. A third figure rose from a nearby seat, a grey-skinned man with a ring of horns around his head. Buffy snap-kicked him in the face, then grabbed his arm and flipped over and onto a table. She turned in time to see the scarred man pull a blaster from his holster. "No blasters! No blasters!" the bartender yelled as he dived behind the bar.

Faster than Buffy could have expected, Kenobi reached under his robe, his lightsaber activating as he swung it outward in a pair of quick motions. The scarred man screamed as his arm was cut away. Another sliced the front of the walrus man's chest, sending him down as well.

Kenobi stood in place, saber held up as he gazed around the bar carefully. There was a pause and then the band began to play again as the various conversations continued as if nothing had happened. Kenobi turned his saber off as he helped Luke to his feet. He nodded to Buffy. "You handled yourself well."

"Not as well as you," Buffy admitted. "Still got the skills, I see."

Ben nodded to the large creature behind him. "Chewbacca here is first mate on a ship that should serve our needs." He led them over as a pair of workers made their way to clean up the mess.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The booth was mostly quiet, occupied only by a man who looked to be in his early thirties. He was dressed in a white shirt, black pants and a black vest. He nodded as Chewbacca sat next to him and Luke, Ben and Buffy sat at the other end of the booth. "Han Solo," he introduced himself. "Captain of the _Millennium Falcon_. Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to Alderaan."

"Yes," Kenobi said. "If it's a fast ship."

"Fast ship?" Solo repeated dubiously. "You've never heard of the _Millennium Falcon_?"

Buffy couldn't quite read the odd look on Ben's face. "Should I have?"

"It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs!" Buffy assumed that was supposed to impress them but it meant nothing to her. Seeing the same looks on the faces of the two men, Solo leaned in with a cocky grin. "I've outrun Imperial ships. Not the bulk cruisers, mind you, but the big ships of the line. She's fast enough for you, old man."

"That would make you a spice smuggler, correct?" Kenobi noted.

Solo chuckled. "Let's just say I'm an independent businessman. Very independent."

"In the best Corellian tradition?" Buffy asked.

As Han nodded, Kenobi spoke. "I think we understand each other, you and I."

Han seemed thrown by that. "Um, ok." He became all business. "What's the cargo?"

"Only passengers," Kenobi stated. "Myself, the boy, the girl, her friend, two droids…" He leaned in and lowered his voice. "And no questions asked.

Han chuckled. "What is it, some kind of local trouble?"

"Let's say avoiding any Imperials would be a great bonus," Buffy stated.

Solo leaned back, thoughtful. "Well, that's the real trick, isn't it? And it's going to cost you something extra." He let them hang before dropping the shoe. "Ten thousand. All in advance."

Buffy was quite grateful she wasn't drinking as she would have spat it out. Luke had the same reaction. "Ten thousand?! We could almost buy our own ship for that!"

"Yeah, but who's gonna fly it, kid? You?" Solo chuckled.

"You bet I could!" Luke snapped. "I'm not such a bad pilot myself!'

Buffy made to rise up. "Come on, there's gotta be someone else we can get cheaper."

Kenobi put an arm on her to let her sit back down. He turned to Solo and spoke carefully. "We don't have that much on us. But we can get you two thousand now and an additional fifteen when I get to Alderaan."

Solo raised an eyebrow. "Seventeen?" He paused and nodded. "Okay, you've got yourselves a ship. Meet me at docking bay 94. Oh and make sure you get the money. Me and my partners don't like it when someone welshes on a deal."

"Partners?" Buffy asked.

"The other one is by the ship," Solo stated. He looked over Kenobi's shoulder. "I saw what was left of two locals being carted out. Your doing?"

"I had no choice," Kenobi said.

"No loss to society," Solo noted. He nodded behind them. "But I think it's got some attention."

The three turned to see some stormtroopers entering, the barman pointing toward the booth. "Back entrance is right next to here," Solo nodded. "Good luck." The three quickly rose to leave the cantina.

Buffy sighed as they exited into the open air. "This is the best we could do?"

"Beggars can't be choosers," Luke sighed. "Let's find Willow and the droids and get started. We've got a lot to do before we can go."

Buffy shook her head. "Falling in with a smuggler and Bigfoot. Mom warned me of days like this if I didn't clean up my act." She followed the two men, hoping this would be the last time she'd have to hang around this planet. She failed to see the dark-garbed figure with a snout-like nose watching them all go.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Next: We check in with the Zeppo, the Hutt and the Falcon.**


	10. Putting the Blast in Blast Off

New Blood in A New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Putting the "Blast" in Blast-Off

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Willow gave a small wave as she saw Luke, Buffy and Ben come over to her. "Hey, any luck?"

"Sounds like we got our flight," Buffy told her. "But he wants two thousand first."

Willow frowned as she reached in her pocket. "Um, I have a few hundred…"

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You keep a purse on you?"

Willow shrugged. "Always have emergency cash handy. Guess that's one lesson of my mother that was worth listening to."

"We shall still need more," Kenobi said, turning to Luke. "You'll have to sell your speeder, I'm afraid."

"That's okay," Luke said.

Buffy stared in surprise. "Luke? You've spent so much time on that thing! Hell, it's working better now than when you first got it!"

"We need the cash," Luke replied. "Besides, it's not like I'm ever coming back to this planet again."

"I would not be so certain of where your path shall take you, Luke," Kenobi intoned.

"Speaking of paths to take," Willow intoned. "I was helping Threepio and Artoo hide out among a used droid lot and I saw more patrols go by. It looks like they're converging on the center of town."

Luke was concerned. "But that's where all the sellers are."

Kenobi stroked his beard. "We shall have to risk it. Buffy, Willow, you should make your way to the spaceports. If they follow regular Imperial search patterns, that area should be clear. Make sure to keep the droids hidden. Luke and I will go to sell the speeder and meet you by the docks."

Buffy gave him a thumbs-up. "Gotcha, old-timer. Hope it's quick. The sooner we're off this planet, the better." She nodded to Willow and the two headed over to where Artoo and Threepio stood.

"A most interesting pair," Kenobi said as he turned to join Luke in heading toward the speeder. "I believe…" He stopped in place and looked about.

"What is it, Ben?" Luke asked.

"I'm not sure…" the elder man said. "It felt like someone was watching us but now it's faded."

"Maybe whoever it was went away. I'm learning to trust your feelings, Ben."

Kenobi nodded as they continued on their way. "How long have you known Buffy?"

"About eight months," Luke answered. "She hasn't said what led her here but she's fit in well."

"Hmm…" Kenobi remarked as he rubbed his chin. "I sense something interesting about her."

Luke was confused. "What?"

"I'm not sure," Kenobi confessed. "It's not quite Force connected but there is still some sort of aura around her. Her friend Willow has an aura that seems stronger, but in a different way." He paused and shook his head. "Perhaps I'm simply reading too much into it. But I sense both those women have something unique to them. We shall see more of what that is as we journey on."

Luke nodded as they reached the speeder. "What do you think about Han Solo?"

"Ah, another interesting pair," Kenobi said as Luke started the speeder up. "Solo is not just any smuggler. And Chewbacca is not like most Wookies or else he would not be following Solo."

"Can we trust them?"

"Not rely on them entirely and I would not want to subject him to temptation. But I'm convinced we can depend on him to do his job."

"That's all we need," Luke intoned. "Passage to Alderaan. He's in a hurry to get his money."

"No doubt he owes some to one of the many characters here on Tatooine." Ben made a small smile. "And one can only wonder how they want it back."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I'm sorry, Captain Solo isn't in at the moment," Xander Harris was calmly saying. "Can I take a message?"

He tried to remain calm, not easy considering his company. He was on the ramp of the _Falcon_, staring out at the half-dozen thugs toting blasters. At the center of the group, was a huge slug-like creature with dark greenish skin and large round eyes. His stubby arms waved as he spoke to Xander in a series of grunts. "_I want Solo out here now!"_

"And I told you, he's not here, Jabba," Xander told the Hutt. "So how about you go out, grab a latte or something and maybe he'll be back?"

The Hutt glared at him. "_Don't be smart with me, boy_!"

"Why would I try? I know your head is a bit too big for that brain of yours."

The Hutt turned to a figure near him. "_Fett, if he makes one more crack like that, shoot him in the kneecaps."_

"With pleasure," the figure said in a voice electronically distorted by his helmet. He was clad head to toe in armor, a jetpack on his back and a large rifle in his hands. Despite the heat, Xander felt a chill as he saw that visor glaring at him.

Jabba leaned in and spoke out in a loud voice. "_Solo! Come on out of there, Solo! Solo, we've got you surrounded!"_

"If you do, you're facing the wrong way."

The thugs whirled around as Jabba jumped (well, his torso bounced) and turned his body around as well. Han stood in the doorway, Chewbacca behind him with his bowcaster out. Han's gun was holstered and he made a smile as he spoke. "You didn't think I was going to run, did you?" He glanced around at the thugs. "Tell them to stow the guns, they're making me nervous."

"_They're just showing respect for your reputation_," Jabba stated.

Han shook his head. "Listen, Jabba, next time you want to see me, come yourself. Don't send one of these twerps."

Jabba shook his head as he crawled forward, hands on hips. "_Han, my boy, sometimes you disappoint me. Why haven't you paid me back for that spice you lost_?"

"I told you I'd get to it."

"_And why'd you have to fry poor Greedo like that? After all he and I have been_ _through together_." Jabba actually attempted to sound grieving, an attempt that didn't quite work.

"Well, it was his taste in drinking partners partly," Han said dryly. He scowled as his tone got angry. "But it was mostly because you sent Greedo to kill me!"

Jabba made a show of innocence and once again failed to achieve the effect. "_Why would I want that, Han? You're the best smuggler in the business, you're too valuable to fry out of hand. Greedo was just there to share my natural concerns over your lack of payment. He wasn't there to fry you."_

"Oh no? _He_ thought he was."

Jabba sighed. "_Han, you must understand. I can't make an exception, as much as I might like you. Where would I be if I let my pilots dump their shipments at the first sight of an Imperial patrol and then show empty hands when I demanded payment."_

"You don't stick your neck out, Jabba, we do." Xander was about to point out that Jabba didn't have much of a neck but wisely held his tongue.

"_That's what you're paid for_," Jabba said, his tone shifting into a lower and more dangerous tone. "_And when you fail, that's bad for business_."

"Oh and you think it'll be good for business to shoot it out with us?"

"_Now, Han, no one said_…"

"Hey, come on, you've got plenty of guns here!"

The various men tightened their grips on their guns. Jabba was a bit thrown by how adamant Han was. Realizing the tension, Xander suddenly spoke up. "Um, Mr. Hutt, sir?" Jabba turned, he and Han both surprised to hear Xander speak. "I realize you're a bit annoyed but does it really make much sense to kill us? You'd still be out of the spice and the cash and you'd have lost a good smuggling team. I'm just looking at this from a business standpoint, you know?"

Jabba stared at him, then over to Han. Finally, Jabba waved a hand to get his men to stand down. "_As I was just telling my associates_," he calmly said. "_You're too valuable to just kill out of hand."_

"Good," Han said. He started to circle Jabba. "I told you before, I didn't have a choice. You think I dumped that spice because I got tired of the smell?" In a move Xander couldn't believe, Han actually put his foot on Jabba's tail and stepped up on it, causing the Hutt to let out a gasp and a glare. Before he could yell out, Han quickly spoke. "But right now, I've got a nice, easy job. I can pay you back, plus a little extra. I just need a little more time."

"_Ah, your charter_," Jabba intoned. "_I heard you were making inquiries. Just how much are they paying you?"_

"Enough to square things with you, Jabba, that's all you need to know." Han made to move to the ship but Jabba stopped him. The Hutt's eyes were narrowed as he poked a fat finger into Han's chest.

"_Something is going on in Mos Eisely, Solo. Streets are filled with stormtroopers, Imperial spies are everywhere. Even I don't know what it's all about_."

Han did his best to hide his surprise. Almost nothing went on around Tattooine that Jabba didn't know the full details of. For him to admit it meant the situation was serious. Han wondered just what this job entailed but kept his tone careful. "What's your point?"

Jabba waved a hand as he smiled. "_Perhaps there's more money to be had bargaining with the Imperials?"_

Chewbacca growled, Xander glared and Han angrily shook his head. "Forget it, Jabba," he snapped. "Selling people out to the Empire ain't our style."

Jabba sighed dramatically. "_Ah, Han. How do you, the Wookie and the kid expect to get ahead in this life?"_

"Some days, we're content to just stay even," Xander called out from the ramp.

Han threw him a look before gazing back at Jabba. "So how do we play it, Jabba?"

The Hutt stroked his thick chin before speaking. "_Han, you're the best. So, for an extra twenty-five percent------"_

"Fifteen, Jabba, let's not push it."

Jabba seemed ready to argue but then nodded. "_Fifteen then_." His large eyes narrowed. "_But I promise you, Solo…if you fail me…I'll put a price on your head so large, you'll never be able to go near a civilized system again_."

"Jabba," Xander called out as Han headed to the ramp. "You're a wonderful….being."

"_Han_." Solo turned as Jabba pointed at him. "_I mean it. Next time, it won't be any two for a credit twerp like Greedo I send after you. Next time_…" He hiked a thumb to the armored figure behind him. "_I send the Fett himself_."

Han glanced at Fett and then to Jabba. "Don't worry, Jabba. I'll pay you…cause it's my pleasure."

Jabba made a motion and his men began to follow him as he slid away. Fett gave the three smugglers long looks before following him out. As soon as they were gone, Xander glanced at Han. "You killed Greedo?"

"Seemed the right thing to do at the time," Han replied.

"He shoot first or you?"

"Truth to tell, not sure," Han said and Xander couldn't tell whether or not he was serious. "How's the ship?"

"We're good to go," Xander stated. "Hope this trip's worth it."

"We're getting seventeen thousand."

Xander whistled. "Wow. What'd they do?

"Don't know, don't care," Solo intoned as he headed up the ramp. "Just as long as we get the cash, I'm happy. One quick run to Alderaan and back and our trouble are over."

Xander shrugged as he headed into the ship. "Careful, mon Capitan or you might jinx us."

"I don't believe in superstition, Junior."

"Too bad. It believes in you."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A quartet of Stormtroopers came over to a doorway. They saw two young women sitting at a table playing a game of cards. Neither seemed to notice the troopers as one tapped on a doorway. A probe droid was beside the troops as the leader knocked on the door, two troopers aiming their guns at it. After a pause, the captain nodded. "All right, let's check the next one."

As the troopers walked off, Willow let out a breath. "Thank God, it worked."

Buffy nodded as she kept playing. "Looks like you've gotten a bit better with the magic."

"I think it's this Force thing," Willow said. "It seems easier to control spells here. I'm still a rookie, not gonna start making it rain or anything but it's a good bonus." She wiped at her brow. "God, how can you stand it here?"

"It's a struggle," Buffy admitted. "Have to admit, I'm glad we're getting out of here while I can."

Willow sipped the drink she'd bought from a small stand. "So you've basically been a desert farmer here?"

"Yep, sans coveralls," Buffy joked.

Willow looked down before speaking. "So, um…how's Luke? I mean, is he a nice guy or…"

"We're not dating, Willow," Buffy said with a smile. "I just…you know, it'd be complicated."

"Why?" Willow asked. "He's a nice guy which puts him a step up half the guys in Sunnydale. Or Earth for that matter."

"True," Buffy noted. "But I just don't know…Especially now, given what he's going through. Maybe once we're on Alderaan and figured it out….we'll see."

Willow nodded. "What about Kenobi?"

"He's something else," Buffy said. She put the cards in her pocket. "The old Slayer Sense keeps going off around him which makes sense given he's a Jedi." She bit her lip. "I get the feeling there's more to what he's saying about Luke's father and Vader. He's not lying, just…I don't know. Just can't shake the idea that he's holding back."

Willow looked over her shoulder. "You can always try asking him." Buffy turned to see Kenobi and Luke walking up to them, Kenobi's hood over his head while Luke was now wearing a poncho top. "Get the money?"

Luke nodded. "We did. Ben used that Force again to get the seller to give us the amount we needed."

"I would never have done it if it wasn't an emergency," Kenobi gravely said. He pointed at Luke. "Misuse of the Force can lead to the most terrible consequences, Luke. Never forget that."

"At that, two thousand was the best we could get," Luke said. "Those old things just aren't in demand anymore."

"It will be enough," Kenobi said. He turned to the girls. "Where are the droids?"

Willow moved to a door and pressed her palm against it. It almost seemed like there was a glow of light as it opened and Artoo and Threepio moved out. "We ready to go?" Buffy asked.

Kenobi nodded, filing away what he had seen for a later discussion. "Yes, let us make haste."

"Do you think we're being followed again?" Luke asked as they started to walk on.

"I'm sure of it," Kenobi said. "I felt someone's presence once or twice. It almost certainly is one of the many spies frequenting the city."

Willow wrapped her small shawl around her shoulders. "Hope this ship is as fast as this Solo guy says it is."

"Don't expect a smuggling ship to be long on beauty," Kenobi noted.

Within moments they had reached the docking bay, Chewbacca waiting for them. The Wookie nodded and led them into the bay itself and they got their first look at the circular collection of hull platings, radar dish and jutted cockpit that could loosely be defined as a ship inside.

"That's it?" Buffy said, staring with an open jaw. "That's the ship we just paid an arm and a leg for?!"

Willow looked around, certain they'd wandered into the wrong bay. Luke shook his head. "What a piece of junk!"

"She'll make point five past lightspeed," Solo called out from his spot underneath the hull. Evidentially the man possessed some especially acute hearing. Or, more likely, he was used to the first reaction the _Falcon_ instilled in potential customers. "I've put in some special modifications myself. She's got the highest lift/mass ratio around, top of the line firepower and her armor rating is just plain illegal."

"But will this junk heap get off the ground?" Buffy asked.

Chewbacca and Solo both frowned. "Watch it, girl," Han snapped. "We don't like people trashing the _Falcon_."

"Sure it happens a lot," Willow muttered.

"She may not look like much but she's got it where it counts," Han added. Either he was the single greatest bald-faced liar Buffy had ever seen or there was more to this ship than it seemed. Buffy shrugged. Hell, she was the walking epitome of not judging something by outward appearances so she decided to reserve judgment.

Luke sighed and stepped forward. "All right, we might as well get this over with."

Han held up a hand. "Just a second, gents. There's the matter of my good faith money."

Luke sourly pulled out the pile of credits and handed them over. Han smiled as he clicked them together. "Funny how this sound just brightens up your whole day, eh?"

"Aren't you going to count it?" Buffy sardonically asked.

"What, you think I don't trust you?" Han chuckled. "I got the whole trip for that."

"Captain Solo, I have reason to believe we've been followed," Kenobi announced.

"Well, my solution to that is to haul jets. So just get in and we'll be on our way." He made a waving motion and the group piled up the ramp. Threepio nodded to Han, who just rolled his eyes.

Inside, the group moved down the hallways. Buffy paused as she saw what looked like a pair of legs sticking out of a panel by the wall. She shrugged and headed to a small booth like seat in the corner. The inside of the Falcon was a bit cleaner than she expected but still looked like someone had thrown the interior of half a dozen different ships together in a haphazard fashion.

"What a mess," Willow remarked. "Are we sure there was no one else?"

"It will suffice," Kenobi stated. He smiled. "Believe me, you should have seen the type of craft I had to------"

His words were cut off by a blasting sound outside. They all started as the sound of blaster bolts echoed. They heard a hiss and then Solo rushed past them, yelling out. "Chewie, get us out of here!"

"Oh my," Threepio moaned as Buffy buckled him in. "I forgot how much I hate space travel."

They held on as they felt the ship rise up and take off into the skies. Buffy gasped a bit as she felt a sudden lurch in her stomach. "What is that?"

"We're leaving the atmosphere," Willow explained.

Buffy nodded as she unbuckled her belt. "Good, I wanna find out what is going on." She stormed to the area of the cockpit, the others behind her.

"What did you guys do?" Han demanded as soon as they entered. "We've got two Star Destroyers closing in!"

"To know us is to love us," Willow cracked.

"If I'd known about this…" Han started.

"What, you'd have refused to take us?" Luke asked.

"No," Han said, refusing to be baited. "But I sure as hell would have boosted your fare."

"Can't you outrun them?" Buffy said. "I thought you said this thing was fast!"

"Watch the mouth, girl or you'll find yourself floating home!" Han fired back. He turned to the consoles before the spider-like window. "I've got a few tricks, we'll lose them."

There was a boom and the ship shook as a bolt of light sped past the window. "They're firing on us!" Luke called out.

"I know that!" Han yelled.

Another rock came. "Do you also know they're _hitting_ us?" Buffy yelled.

"How long until we make the jump to lightspeed?" Kenobi asked.

"A few more seconds," Han said.

"Are you kidding?" Luke exclaimed. "At the rate they're gaining…"

"Flying through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops, boy!" Han retorted. "Without precise calculations, we could wind up flying through a star or right into a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"

Another rocking came as a flashing light lit up on the console. "What's that?" Luke asked, pointing to it.

Han smacked his hand away. "We're losing our deflector shield. Get back and strap in, I'm making the jump!"

The group rushed back into the main room and strapped into the seats. Willow looked to Buffy and licked her lips. "Um…you might want to close your eyes. First hyperspace jump can be a bit…sudden."

Buffy closed her eyes and took a breath. It took a few seconds before her stomach lurched once more and every inch of her body felt like goosebumps covered it. As soon as it faded, she let out a gasp and opened her eyes. "Damn."

"Yeah, it is something," Willow agreed. She sighed as she unbuckled her bed. "I guess we're okay for now."

There were the sound of footsteps on metal as a figured burst into the hold, rubbing his head. "Boss, could you at least warn me before you get us into a firefight? I'm gonna need an extra-sized…"

_"XANDER!"_ Xander Harris had just enough time to see a flash of blond and a flash of red before he was tackled to the ground and showered with hugs, kisses on the cheek and a few tears.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Next: Training begins in the ways of the Jedi as a slight detour occurs.**


	11. Teachings in Transition

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Teachings in Transitions

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Han was looking over the controls when Chewbacca came into the cockpit. "So what was all that yelling for anyhow?"

The Wookie growled an answer as he sat in the accompying chair.

Han stared at him in surprise. "Huh? How the hell does that kid know those two girls?"

The Wookie just shrugged and adjusted a few knobs on the console. He grunted a few words which made Han shake his head. "I don't believe it. I'm telling you, Chewie, I got a bad feeling about this trip. If it wasn't the money, I'd just let them out."

Chewie smirked and made a comment. Han glared at him. "Just lay in our course, furball."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Luke and Ben were watching as the three reunited Sunnydalers were talking all at once, regaling with stories of what they had been up to. To Luke, it was total confusion and even Kenobi's experience with language left him unable to full decipher the conversation.

Finally, Willow took a breath to ask. "So, you're…a criminal now?"

"Well, it depends on the definition," Xander was quick to point out. "You can make a case that the Empire isn't much on real justice so skirting a few laws to get by isn't too bad."

Willow frowned. "Well…guess it makes sense." She looked at the tools Xander held. "So, you're a mechanic here?"

"Had to find some way to pull my weight," Xander confirmed. "It's surprisingly easy. Guess I just have a knack for it."

"Finally found your calling then," Buffy jibed good-naturedly.

Xander shrugged. "Been learning to do some piloting too. Maybe not as fancy as the _Falcon_ herself but can handle a snub fighter or two."

"Really?" Buffy asked with surprise. "Been learning myself with Luke's skyhopper." She saw the way Willow and Xander looked at her. "What?"

"Um, Buffy, you never got your driver's license," Xander pointed out.

"That wasn't my fault!" Buffy said. "You know I had to use the car to run down a demon!"

"Excuses, excuses," Xander remarked.

Luke shook his head as he began to unbuckle his belt. "Well, his flying may be wild but at least he got us out this."

"It reminds me of why I hate space travel!" See-Threepio stated. He looked toward Xander. "Your pardon, sir, but is there a place where Artoo and myself may recharge?"

"A good idea," Kenobi noted. "There's no telling when we might get another chance."

"Yeah, unit's right over here," Xander said as he led them to a corner of the bay. Luke was looking around, shaking his head. "Look at this place. Half of these components aren't supposed to be compatible with the other half! Some starship."

"It's not pretty but it's better than you expect," Xander pointed out. "We don't have the funds or the profile to use any high-end maintenance work but we make do well. Han already had this thing working great, I just help out."

"Guess we can look around a little bit," Willow stated.

"You may," Kenobi said. "But as for you, Luke, I think it's time to begin your training."

"What?" The young man was thrown. "Here and now?"

"The training of a Jedi is a lifelong education," Kenobi stated as he rose. "Traditionally, students were taken in almost as infants and raised at the Academy. There, they were taught the ways of the Force as with all other skills."

"Vader was one of them," Luke said, his eyes narrowing. "I want to know about him, Ben. What made him turn? I want to find him, tell him who's son I am…"

"Luke, you cannot let hatred take hold of you."

"But…"

Kenobi held up a hand. "Anger, hatred and yes, fear too…they can allow you to gain power from the Force. But only from the dark side. And in the end, the dark side exacts a terrible price from those whom is seduces. As one of my teachers said 'once you walk the dark path, forever will it consume you."

Luke sighed. "Yes, but I want…"

"Luke, the Force is not always as direct as we would like. The most important thing to have in order to master it is patience."

"I've been short of that," Luke admitted. "I'm sorry, Ben. I don't want to sound ungrateful. I'm honored you've decided to teach me."

Kenobi smiled. "I am the one honored, Luke. Your father was not only my student but also my friend. I would like to think you would have followed him into the Order had the fall of the Jedi not occurred." His smile faded. "Normally, an acolyte would need months of preparation before they were even allowed to handle a lightsaber. But this is a different time with greater urgencies."

He handed Luke the lighsaber he had shown at his home. "Here. Be careful when activating it." Luke hit the button and the beam of blue light emerged. "Good," Kenobi intoned. "Now…watch me closely."

He ignited his own saber and held it up in a ready position. "This is your starting position."

Luke nodded before speaking. "Ben, how did you make that quick move in the cantina? That was-----"

"Patience, Luke," Kenobi calmly interrupted. "Basics. You must…"

"Crawl before I run?" Luke sheepishly asked.

Kenobi chuckled. "Just so." He lit his saber, Luke following. "Now, keep your feet spread out, defensive position." Luke shuffled his feet a bit.

"Further out," Buffy called out from her spot at the table. "Balance yourself more."

Ben looked to her with a wry smile. "Would you prefer to instruct him?"

"Ooooh, you don't want to use that tone with her," Willow said.

Buffy rose up and strode over to where Kenobi stood. She extended her hand. After a brief pause, Ben put the saber in it. Buffy ignited it, taking a moment to adjust the grip and let it take balance in her hands. Looking to Luke, she held it up. "Okay, fencing 101. Basic positions are 1, overhead….2, left side…3, right side…4, block by left leg…5, block by right leg…"

She moved the lightsaber in turn and Luke did his best to emulate it. She made the moves a couple more times, Luke keeping up well. Kenobi hid how impressed he was at how smooth and naturally Buffy moved the saber. "You seem skilled in the ways of a blade," he remarked.

Buffy shrugged. "Let's just say I've had a unique education." She looked to Luke. "Okay…you follow." She went through the motions, Luke managing to catch onto it fast.

"Very good," Kenobi intoned. "If you'll pardon me, the Jedi style is a bit different." He took his lightsaber back as he spoke. "There were several noted technique styles. I was a student of Soresu while your father was a fine Djem-So wielder." He lit the saber once more. "For now, you must learn the basics."

Buffy watched closely as he led Luke through some exercises. It was obvious that the old man was still highly skilled despite his age as he did his best to teach Luke the moves.

Luke sighed as he stumbled at one move. "This is a lot harder than I thought."

"Using a lightsaber is a matter of skill," Kenobi admitted. "For, for one who has never had it before, you handle it quite well."

Luke shook his head. "Maybe I should just stick with a blaster for now."

"There are things a lightsaber can do that a blaster cannot," Kenobi intoned. "But more importantly, using a lighsaber is a discipline for the mind and schooling for your body and spirit."

"It just seems so hard," Luke sighed.

Kenobi stroked his beard. "Hmm…normally, an acolyte would need some time to get used to a lightsaber. But time is something we are not in possession of. Perhaps I can accelerate your training by opening you up to the Force."

"Huh? How?"

"By building your trust in yourself. A Jedi's power is derived from the Force by a firm conviction of trust."

"What do I do?" Luke asked.

"Just clear your mind," Kenobi calmly stated. "Focus on my words. Let your mind go forth. Focus on the spot on the deck where you did your exercises…"

The speech reminded Buffy of the focus exercises Giles had put her through. She could feel herself going with Kenobi's almost hypnotic tones, letting her mind stretch to that point. She could almost feel the way the motions flowed, how that set of exercises worked, how….

She blinked as she realized Luke was now going through the exercises, making each move smooth and easy. He stopped and shook his head. "Wow. It…felt so natural, so easy! It was like the drill just carried me."

"As it should," Kenobi noted. "You have a strong aptitude, Luke. Would you like to do more?"

Luke nodded. "You bet."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

For the better part of an hour, Buffy watched as Kenobi led Luke through a series of drills, the young man following them with growing skill. Buffy inserted a comment now and then on how Luke should improve his stance, which he and Kenobi both listened to.

Watching from the far side, Willow and Xander exchanged a look. "Just like old times," Xander joked. "Watching the big fancy training as we sit on the sidelines."

"It is our lot in life," Willow dryly said. She smiled. "But I do still have the magic."

Xander nodded. "Yeah. And I am turning into a crack shot and pilot."

Willow was surprised. "You are, really? That's impressive." She paused and bit her lip as she leaned in. "Um, Xander….this may sound strange but…have you…ever….killed anyone?"

He paused before speaking. "It's a dangerous job. Sometimes, we get in over our heads and….it's kill or be killed." He shrugged. "I lean toward the former in that case."

Willow looked away. "I…I caused some stormtroopers to get killed. I…" She shivered. "I know Leia has. But…I'm just not…good with it."

Xander smiled as he rubbed her shoulder. "I think it's when you stop feeling guilty that you need to worry."

Willow smiled. "Thanks, Xander. I forgot how good you can cheer me up."

"Nice to know I still have my talents," the young man joked.

Kenobi watched as Luke finished another set of exercises. "That's enough for now, Luke. We'd best take a break for now."

"But I don't feel tired," Luke said. "I feel like I can keep on going for hours."

"Then take pity on your elders, son," Kenobi said as he sat down.

Buffy moved up. "I can help him out if you need a break, old-timer."

Kenobi thought about it and nodded before handing over the lightsaber. Buffy ignited it and moved into the stance. Just as she was about to begin, she heard the sound of large footsteps and looked up to see Chewbacca come in. He looked over to Xander and grunted.

"Sorry, Chewie," Xander said as he knelt by a console. "I have to make sure these power couplings are fixed right."

"What is he asking?" Willow questioned.

"Wants to know if I could play a game of holographic chess," Xander said, nodding to the circular table in the corner. "He knows I'm still trying to figure it out."

Artoo let out a whistle. "Oh, stop bragging, Artoo!" Threepio snapped.

"What's he saying?" Luke asked.

"Well, sir, he claims to have been programmed to play a competent game of chess when he was working at a one-man refueling station in order to provide a diversion for the attendant."

Luke looked to Chewbacca. "Sounds like you have a match, Chewie."

The Wookie and the droid moved over to the board as Luke turned to Kenobi. "How about a practice duel, Ben? If we took it slowly and didn't use…"

"I don't think you're quite ready for that, yet," Kenobi said. "Although I agree you could use more practice." He stroked his beard and rose up. "Excuse me, Xander, was it?"

The young man looked up. "Yeah?"

"I noticed Captain Solo wears his blaster in a quick-draw holster. Does he have a target practice remote?"

"Ah, yeah, he does." Xander moved to a nearby shelf, rummaging before pulling out a metal globe the size of a baseball with odd metallic circles on it. "Here we go."

Ben fiddled with the remote. "I'm setting it to let out a short burst as it hovers. It won't hurt, just a sting. You must try to block it with the saber."

"Oh?" Buffy said as she hefted the saber. "Like this?" She turned to the remote, keeping the blade steady. It hovered before firing a burst of light. In a blur, Buffy blocked it, the burst breaking apart as it hit the blade. She blocked another and then a third.

Kenobi did his best to hide his surprise. He knew Buffy had some sort of fighting skills but the way she handled a lightsaber was amazing. Once again, he wondered just what it was about this woman that made her aura so unique. He opened his mouth to speak…

Willow was watching the holographic game with interest. It appeared to be like chess but with creatures out of a Ray Harryhausen film. She suddenly stiffened as she felt something. It was a chill down her spine, making her shiver all over. It almost felt like a tremor around her with a touch of darkness to it.

Whatever it was, it seemed to effect Kenobi even more. The old man held a hand to his chest as he moved off, almost collapsing into a nearby seat. "Ben?" Luke turned off the saber and moved to him quickly. "Ben, what's wrong?"

The old man took a deep breath and when it looked up, Buffy was struck by the actual fear that showed in his eyes. "I felt a great disturbance in the Force," he gravely said. "As if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. As if an entire world had died in a single instant. I fear something terrible has happened."

He shook his head and waved to Luke. "You…you'd better get back to your exercises."

"Are you sure?" Luke asked.

The elder man nodded, trying to regain his composure. In truth, he was deeply shaken by what had happened. He hadn't felt a shockwave in the Force that great since Order 66. He looked to where Willow was and noted how she seemed to be affected too. Another interesting note to file away.

Luke backed up and turned on the saber to face the hovering remote. Han entered the cabin, calling out. "Well, you can forget your troubles with those Imperial slugs. I told you we'd outrun them."

He sat in a chair and looked around. He saw Luke with the remote, Buffy watching him, Willow leaning on a wall, Kenobi sitting, Xander by a power coupling and Threepio watching Chewbacca and Artoo play their game.

"Don't everyone thank me at once," the smuggler muttered.

"They're waiting to fill out the questionnaire at the end of the trip," Xander quipped.

Solo leaned back to watch Chewbacca make a move on the board. Artoo studied it and his arm in the console turned. Willow watched as one of the creatures moved in, grabbed Chewbacca's piece and hurled it to the board. "Sheesh, even I saw that coming!" Xander remarked.

Chewbacca growled loudly. Threepio was a bit startled but spoke "He made a fair move! Screaming about it won't help!"

"Best to let him have it," Han stated. "You don't want to upset a Wookie."

"But sir," Threepio said. "No one worries about upsetting a droid."

"Yes, but droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose," Solo said with a grin. "Wookies are known to do that."

Threepio looked at him, then to Xander, who gave a slow nod. "I see. Well, sir, it would be bad sportsmanship for Artoo to take advantage of an opponent like this." He leaned in to his counterpart. "I suggest a new strategy, Artoo. Let the Wookie win."

Luke was back to his exercises, keeping the saber up as the probe swept around. "Remember," Kenobi said, his voice stronger. "A Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him."

"You mean it controls your actions?" Luke asked.

"Partially," Kenobi responded. "But it can also obey your commands."

"Sounds like a handy tool," Buffy stated.

"Like any tool, it must be handled carefully," Kenobi said. As if on cue, a bolt zipped out to strike Luke in the arm.

Solo chuckled. "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good sidearm, kid!"

Buffy glared at him. "You don't believe in the Force, do you?"

Solo rolled his eyes. "Girl, I have been form one end of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff but I've never seen anything to convince me there's some all-powerful Force controlling…everything. There's no mystical field controlling my destiny."

"Than what does?" Kenobi asked.

Solo frowned. "Who cares? Look, all you're teaching him is simple tricks and mumbo-jumbo."

"Don't knock that," Buffy said. "You'd be amazed just how deep mumbo-jumbo goes in the building blocks of the universe."

Kenobi rose up to get something from a nearby table. "I suggest you try again, Luke. But this time, let the Force guide you." He put a pilot's helmet Solo had lying around, its blast shield lowered to cover Luke's eyes.

Buffy looked at Kenobi. "Kind of ruining the whole hand-eye coordination thing, aren't you?"

"Your eyes can deceive you," Kenobi said as he backed up. "Don't trust them."

Luke shrugged as he turned the saber on. He held it carefully as the probe twisted and turned before letting out a burst of light that struck him at the hip. Solo laughed but Buffy glared at him. "Try again, Luke," she stated.

Luke steadied himself. "Reach out with your feelings," Kenobi urged.

Luke held the blade up. The probe swiveled and hovered and let out a series of three quick shots. Without pause, Luke deflected each one off the saber. "Nice one!" Buffy said.

"I call it luck," Solo sardonically mentioned.

"In my experience, there's no such thing as mere luck," Kenobi responded.

"Hey, good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living? That's something else. And don't knock luck, old man. That and money is all you need faith in."

"Ah, yes, money," Kenobi intoned. "I forgot how important that was to you."

"Hey, don't knock greed," Xander stated. "If we weren't so hard up, you wouldn't have been able to hire us."

"Junior's right," Solo said. "You get where you go and we clear our debts. Everyone wins."

Kenobi laughed. "You're quite the paradox, Captain Solo. You prize above everything the cardinal freedom of space travel yet you're held back but something as trivial as money." He paused. "Come to think of it, there are entire worlds in just that same predicament."

Chewbacca growled as he rose from his seat and Solo wasn't happy either. "Oh, so money's trivial, huh?" he snapped as he spun his seat to face Kenobi. "Let's see you go without it!"

"Oh, but I do."

Solo blinked. "Huh?"

Kenobi spread out his hands. "Have you seen a credit come to or leave my hand? I haven't had any…and haven't missed it…for some time now and wanted for nothing."

Solo sputtered. "Yeah…but…Okay, so the kids paid for your fare. But you wouldn't be anywhere if they hadn't gotten the cash!"

Kenobi raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I'm…lucky?"

Solo heard a snort and turned to see Xander holding a hand to his face. He also saw Luke, Buffy and Willow all grinning. "What am I doing arguing with a desert coot like you? You don't even have the money for a meal!" He heard a beeping from his console and turned to it. "We're coming up on Alderaan. You measure your value in this life in cash, old man. You have enough of it, you can fly as far and as fast as you want."

He turned to head to the cockpit, Chewbacca and Xander falling in behind him. "Captain Solo!"

He stopped to face Kenobi, the Jedi looking at him impassively. "The universe itself is curved, my friend. No matter how far or how fast you fly, you eventually end up…right where you began."

"Now, listen…oh forget it!" Solo stamped off. Luke chuckled as he came up to Kenobi. "Don't listen to him, Ben. All the money in the Empire wouldn't stop me from helping you out and Princess Leia."

"I'm with him on that," Willow said as the group moved to their corner seats.

"You know, I did feel something," Luke said. "It's almost like I could see the remote."

"That's good," Kenobi said, clasping a hand on his shoulder. "You've just taken your first steps into a much broader world."

Buffy snorted. "Yeah but just make sure you keep an eye on where you're going. Trust me, there's always a big fall somewhere down the line."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"They're getting on my nerves," Solo said as he began to throw switches. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a wide-eyed idealist."

Chewbacca grumbled at him. "Yes, they are that bad!" Han snapped. "They're hot too!"

"I've known that about Buffy for years," Xander remarked from his seat behind the pilot. "Willow will be happy to hear herself described as that."

Han glared at him. "You saw how bad those Imperials wanted them, Junior. Just how well do you know them?"

"Well enough to give you the advice that pissing off Buffy isn't a good idea," Xander noted.

Chewbacca talked again and Han snorted. "Oh, getting soft in your old age? Maybe we oughta quit the smuggling game and open up a soup kitchen."

He adjusted some controls and reached overhead. "All right, stand by the cut the sub-light engines." He pulled on the lever over his head and the blue and white tunnel of lights through the canopy turned into regular space…which was filled with a rather sizeable selection of large rocks.

"The hell?" Xander yelled as the ship was rocked by the debris. Only Han's slightly paranoid assertion to always come out of hyperspace with shields up prevented the _Falcon_ from being crushed. Xander automatically made sure to power up the shields as Han and Chewbacca struggled to keep the ship steady.

"I thought I told you to check the route!" Han yelled.

"I did!" Xander exclaimed as he checked his computer readout. "There aren't supposed to be any asteroid showers or anything this close to Alderaan."

"What's going on?" Luke said as he, Kenobi, Buffy and Willow burst into the cockpit.

"Just stopping by to pick up some gravel," Xander remarked.

Willow frowned as she looked out. "There shouldn't be any disturbances near Alderaan."

"Looks our master Captain flew us off-course," Buffy sardonically noted. "What's the matter, Rand-McNally doesn't publish for this galaxy?"

Han was checking the console. "Our position's correct only…no Alderaan."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked. "Where is it?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, kid, it ain't there." Han kept his eyes on the wild field as he kept flying. "According to my calculations, we should be about one meter over the surface. Judging by all that wild energy and the way things are flying, I'd say it's been blown away. Totally."

"What?!" Willow screamed. "How?"

"Destroyed," Kenobi intoned solemnly. "By the Empire."

A long silence filled the cockpit as everyone took in his words. Willow choked, trying to reconcile the idea that the world she'd lived on for the better part of a year was gone. For the others, it was too much to take. The idea that a human agency could willfully be behind the extermination of an entire planet and all life on it…It was beyond genocide, it was a crime against the universe itself.

"No," Han said, shaking his head in denial. "No way. The entire Imperial Starfleet couldn't destroy the whole planet. It would take a thousand ships with more firepower than------" The rest of his words were cut out by a loud beeping.

"What now?" Buffy asked.

"We've got a ship coming in," Han answered as he checked the radar.

"Maybe it's a survivor," Willow hopefully piped up. "They can tell us what happened."

"No," Kenobi answered. "It's an Imperial fighter."

"How do you-----" Han was interrupted when a fighter flew past the window. It was shaped like an H with large foil wins flanking a small cockpit. "It's a TIE job," Xander confirmed.

"It followed us!" Luke exclaimed.

"No, those things are short-range fighters only," Xander told him.

"It must have wandered away from a convoy or something," Luke speculated. "Look, he's leaving in an awfully big hurry. If he identifies us, we're in big trouble."

"Not if I can help it," Luke said. "Xander, jam his transmissions. Chewie, increase our speed." The two worked quickly as the _Falcon_ zipped clear of the debris to chase the TIE.

"It's best to just let him go," Kenobi said. "It's too far out of range."

"Not for long," Han said. "You may think you know everything, old man, but you've got a lot to find out about the _Millennium Falcon._" He increased the speed as the ship roared forward. They saw the TIE heading to what appeared to be a growing dot in the distance.

"He's heading to that small moon," Buffy called out.

"The Empire must have a base there," Han noted. "Ah, well, a few seconds and he won't be a problem anymore."

Willow was still wrapping her head with the entire destruction when something clicked in her mind. "Um…Alderaan doesn't have any moons."

Kenobi was the first to see the metallic ball and stiffened. "That's no moon," he said. "That's a space station!"

"What?" Han half-laughed. "You're crazier than I thought! It's too big to…be a…space station…" His voice trailed away as the globe came into view and they could see the metallic edges and the huge circular dish on one side.

"Oh my damn," Buffy whispered.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Luke intoned.

"You get those too, huh?" Xander lightly remarked.

"Turn the ship around," Kenobi ordered.

"Yeah…yeah, I think you're right." Han's fingers flew over the console. "Full reverse, Chewie, get ready to…"

The entire ship shook and seemed to rumble. "Chewie, lock in auxiliary power," Han ordered. The Wookie did so but then shook his head and growled. "I said lock in auxiliary power!"

"Why are we still moving toward it?" Buffy demanded.

"Harris!" Han called out.

The younger man shook his head. "They've got a tractor beam on us, boss. Bigger than anything I've seen before."

"Engine status?"

"We're going to burn them out if we keep fighting it like this."

Han sighed. "All right, Chewie, cut the reverse and reroute power to the forward shields. Junior, warm up the guns."

"Ah, scuse me," Buffy called out. "We hired you to carry us to Alderaan, not play Butch and Sundance!"

"You can't win," Kenobi agreed.

"No, but I can shorten a few Imperial careers," Han responded.

"This is a smuggling ship," Kenobi said. "Concealment is your specialty so we should take advantage of it."

Han frowned. "How?"

"Whatever it is, make it fast," Buffy noted. "We'll be in their dock in a few minutes."

"Last minute plans to avoid major painful death," Xander announced as he rose form his seat. "Yep, just like old times."


	12. Detour Into Danger

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

A Detour Into Danger

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Oh, dear, what now?" Threepio moaned as he made his way down the hallway of the ship. Artoo followed him, his sensors alert to the shifting in the ship's velocity. "How I hate space travel!" the golden droid remarked yet again.

He saw Willow racing up toward them, her face flushed. "Mistress Willow, what is happening? Have we reached Alderaan already?"

"There is no Alderaan, Threepio," Willow blurted.

If a droid could frown, Threepio would have done so. "I beg your pardon, Mistress Willow, but I must point out you are in error. Why, we were there just------"

"Someone's blown it to pieces!" Willow yelled at him. "Now come on or we'll be joining it!"

"Oh dear," Threepio moaned as he did his best to follow. Buffy suddenly brushed past him, followed by Luke and then Kenobi. "Move it, Goldenrod!" Buffy yelled out. Threepio did his best to move quickly as Artoo rolled toward them.

Buffy looked up to Xander, who had just run in. "Xander, tell me this place has a closet to hide in."

"Better." Xander kneeled down to pound a fist on the floor. A small latch popped up and Xander grabbed it to pull. Buffy leaned down to help and a large metal section of the floor gave way and slid aside.

"Wow, I didn't even notice those!" Luke exclaimed as Buffy and Xander pulled another plating up.

"That's the idea," Xander remarked. "Come on, let's get inside!" He hopped into the empty hold as Chewbacca entered the room. The Wookie quickly grabbed Artoo and helped Xander fit the droid inside as Buffy and Kenobi helped Threepio in and did their best to lay the golden droid down.

"Is there enough room for all of us?" Willow asked as she stepped into the hold.

"There will have to be," Kenobi intoned as Chewbacca slid one of the panels back into place over the droids and Willow. Buffy stepped in as Solo raced in. "We're coming in close to their outer defenses. I say we got five minutes tops before we're inside."

"Indeed," Kenobi said as he ducked into the bay. "I realize how tight your schedule is, Captain Solo."

"Hope you left the hatch door open, boss," Xander remarked as he got into the compartment. "I hate to think of them blasting it off."

"Already done," Solo said.

"You fixed the log and the escape pods?" Kenobi asked as Luke and Buffy entered the compartment.

"You think you're the only one who's conned Imperials?" Han demanded. "All right, everyone duck your heads." He, Xander and Chewbacca slid the plates back into position, letting them lock and seal.

It was dark and naturally cramped inside the compartment as everyone struggled for room. "Get your toe out of my ear, Chewie," Solo complained.

Buffy felt something hit her back and tensed. "Luke, that damn well better be your lightsaber."

"Oh, sorry," the young man sheepishly said as he backed away.

"What was that stuff with the logs?" Willow asked.

"I doctored the log to make it sound like we got off in escape pods and sent the ship ahead as a decoy," Solo answered.

"Will they buy that?"

"Maybe at first. These compartments are shielded so it should buy us some time."

There was a rumble that shook the ship and everyone tensed. After a few moments, there was another shaking and they felt the hull under them shuffle down. "We've landed," Han said. "It'll take 'em a few moments to get the oxygen back in the bay. Then we'll have to deal with the first search."

They were tense for a few moments before they heard the hatch hissing open. Xander, Han and Chewbacca raised their blasters, ready to open fire if need be. The sound of footsteps echoed above them, moving about. Willow could recognize the scratching sounds of Stormtroopers communicating with each other as they checked the ship out.

Luke was pinned at one side when he felt Ben stiffen beside him. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

"I felt a presence," Kenobi stated. "If it is who I suspect…it answers many questions."

Luke wanted to ask more but hearing footsteps right over him convinced him to keep quiet. They could hear the troopers checking in with each other before heading out. Solo waited a few more moments before pushing the deck plates up and allowed them to rise up.

"Good thing you had these here," Luke noted.

"I never figured on smuggling myself in them," Han said.

"So what now?" Buffy asked.

Han shook his head. "This is crazy. Even if I could take off, we can't get far with that tractor beam going."

"Leave that to me," Kenobi said as he started to climb out of the hold.

Han shook his head. "Damn fool, I knew you were going to say that!"

"Who's the more foolish?" Kenobi dryly asked. "The fool or the fool who follows him?"

"Is this one of those logic puzzles?" Xander asked. "Cause I really don't handle those very well."

"Of this, we are fully aware," Buffy stated. "As for puzzles, any ideas how we get off this ship without facing a firing squad?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Every person on the Death Star knew when Darth Vader was close by. The man's shadow seemed to radiate for yards around him, with an aura that never failed to chill even the most hardened officer's spine and heart. Naturally, the Dark Lord was given a wide berth as he marched down the hallway. His black mask hid his features and thus the way he was deep in thought.

The discovery of this ship was a mystery. He didn't believe it was a decoy, it was far too obvious. It didn't explain why it was coming to Alderaan either. He assumed the scanning crews would find something on board but something did not sit right with him.

There was an aura about that ship. Several auras, in fact. They all seemed strong in the Force, but in different ways. The first was familiar somehow. The second was young, inexperienced but again, somehow familiar. The third…was odd. It didn't seem to be connected to the Force itself, yet there was power to it. The same was for the fourth, an echo, a tingle in the Force but not a full connection.

Vader kept walking as he shifted through his thoughts and those feelings. Again, he was struck by how oddly familiar that first aura was, so powerful, strong and…

He stopped right in place, not noticing the looks he received from passing soldiers. It hit him suddenly, the reason that aura was so familiar. It was older, a bit fainter but he would know it anywhere.

_Obi-Wan Kenobi._

_He's still alive._

Thoughts of those other auras were brushed aside as Vader strode toward the main command center. If Kenobi was involved, this was more than a simple decoy or even a rescue mission. The moment Vader had dreamed of for more than twenty years was finally about to come to pass. He had to prepare.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"This is beyond a shadow of a doubt, your _worst_ idea _ever_, Xander."

Willow's voice was a muffled and distorted by the communicator in her helmet. She did her best not to stumble in the large boots she was now wearing. The blaster rifle in her hands was also a bit of a hassle. Buffy didn't have as much problems holding it but Willow could tell she was having a little trouble managing the bulky armor around her.

The two hung by the ramp of the ship, each now clad in the armor of a stormtrooper. Chewbacca was busy shoving the bodies of the two troopers and two technicians into the smuggling compartments. Han and Chewbacca had taken out the two technicians who had come in to scan the ship and then tricked the stormtroopers below to enter.

It had been Xander who suggested "going to the classics" by dressing in the men's uniforms. Unfortunately, Buffy and Willow had been chosen to wear two of the three troopers' armor while Luke wore the last one.

"How come we have to wear this?" Buffy complained.

"Cause, blondie," Han said as he adjusted the technician's jacket over his own vest. "The Imperial military is notorious for being 98 male. They see a couple of women your age, it's going to send up some flares."

"A male-dominated Empire," Willow mused. "My mom would have a field day with this."

Xander adjusted the dark cap on his head. "I guess we're good to go."

"The control room should be just above the bay," Kenobi stated. "Willow, Luke, follow with your blasters drawn as if leading prisoners. Buffy, you come after."

"Hope your uniform's better than this," Buffy told Luke. "Sounds like this guy slept in it!"

Luke chuckled. "At least mine is a better fit." Indeed, if the armor were cloth, it would be hanging over the bodies of the two women. As it was, Buffy had to make sure the helmet wasn't obviously sagging to one side on her head. She made some adjustments as the group marched out. Counting to ten, she followed.

She stared through the eye slits on the helmet to take in the bay. It was quite massive and done up in gray tiling with white lighting on the floor. She looked to the large bay doors where a force field kept back the vacuum of space.

"TK-421, why aren't you at your post?" Buffy nearly jumped at the voice that came through her ear. She turned her head before realizing it was from a communicator in the helmet. "TK-421, why don't you copy?" the voice continued.

She saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned to see an officer looking down from the control room above. He was frowning and Buffy realized he'd probably been trying to contact the trooper whose armor she wore. She raised a gloved hand and tapped the side of her helmet, hoping he'd get the hint that it was out of order. The man nodded and gave a wave and Buffy let out a sigh of relief as she made her way to the elevator nearby.

It was a short ride up, followed by a quick ride through the hallway. She saw Luke waiting by an open doorway and quickly headed in. As she entered, she saw the body of the officer she had seen earlier lying amidst some containers. Another man lay by the large consoles, a blaster hole in his chest.

As soon as the thick metal door had slid shut, Luke pulled his helmet off and glared at Han. "You know, between the Wookie howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the whole station doesn't know we're here!"

"Bring 'em on!" Han said as he took off the cap on his head. "I'd prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around!"

"Oh, that's brilliant strategy," Buffy scoffed as she and Willow removed their helmets. "Six humans, a Wookie, five blasters, two lightsabers and a pair of droids against a couple hundred thousand well-armed and highly trained Imperial troops." She glanced at Xander. "I'm assuming you haven't gotten around to talking to him about Custer."

Xander smirked. "Han's philosophy of life is simple. Never tell him the odds."

"It's served me well," the smuggler argued.

"Yeah and it's gonna serve you up on a platter if you keep it up," Buffy noted.

The two droids had moved to the console. "Sir," Threepio spoke up. "Artoo has found the mainframe."

"Plug into it," Kenobi ordered. "He should be able to interpret the Imperial network." The blue droid plugged in his attachment and turned it. He whistled and Threepio translated. "He says he's found the main control for the tractor beam that's holding the ship in place. He'll try to make the precise location appear on the monitors."

Everyone glanced at the monitors as they flashed through schematics of the base. "A distant galaxy, space travel, able to go faster than light and they use computer graphics from the '80's?" Willow noted with a bit of distaste.

"Yeah, I was expecting Holodecks and replicators too," Xander agreed.

Buffy smirked. "Think you've found your calling, Will. Find a way to develop Windows for this galaxy and you're set for life."

Threepio looked up at one screen showing a flow of data. "Oh, dear," he said.

"I swear, the guy so reminds me of Giles!" Willow whispered.

"Only less prissy," Xander agreed.

Threepio turned to the others. "From what I can gather, this facility is code-named 'The Death Star.' Apparently, it possess a laser weapon powerful enough to destroy a planet with a single blast."

"Alderaan," Buffy hissed. "They used it as a test."

"A test?" Willow blurted. "They killed billions of living beings for…a test?!" She felt Xander put a hand on her shoulder as she tried to keep the rage within her at bay.

The monitors continued to flash as Threepio spoke. "The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss in any of those stations would deactivate the beam."

Kenobi gazed at the final image shown of a hallway with a blinking light where the power coupling was. He had already automatically memorized the layout he had seen, thanks to his years of practice. He turned to face the others. "I don't think any of you young people can help me. I have to do this alone."

"Fine by me," Han said as he moved to the console chair. "I've been getting more than I bargained for out of this trip already."

Luke and Buffy moved to Kenobi but the Jedi shook his head. "I must do this alone."

Buffy skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Ah, no offense, Ben or Obi, whatever it is. This is too important a job for one old-timer."

"I can still be stealthy when need be," Kenobi said. "Remember, the Force can help cloud one's perceptions. One Jedi can reach the station alone better than two or three people."

"I want to come with," Luke insisted.

Kenobi shook his head. "You must stay here and make sure the droids are safely delivered to the Rebel Alliance."

"But Han and Chewbacca------"

Kenobi put a hand on his shoulder. "They must be delivered safely or other planets will share the same fate as Alderaan."

"But, Ben----"

Kenobi smiled at him. "Your fate lies on a different path than mine, Luke." He glanced to Buffy. "As does yours." He turned to open the door then turned to them. He made a soft smile as he spoke. "The Force will be with you. Always." With that, he turned and walked away. Luke and Buffy watched him go, both feeling uneasy as Luke shut the door.

Chewbacca put his hands on his hips and growled. Buffy didn't know Wookie but she guessed it was something along the lines of "The old man's mad."

"Boy, you said it, Chewie," Han said, shaking his head. "Where did you dig up that old fossil?"

"Ben is a great man," Luke argued as he turned to Han.

"Yeah, great at getting us in trouble."

"Well, I didn't hear you come up with any ideas!"

"Anything's better than just standing here and waiting-----" Han's rant was cut off as Artoo suddenly whistled loudly.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked as she and Luke came up.

"I'm not sure," Threepio said. "He keeps saying 'I found her' and 'she's here.'"

"Who?"

Artoo whistled and Threepio answered. "Princess Leia."

"Leia?!" Willow gasped.

"The princess, she's here?" Luke blurted.

"Princess?" Han asked. "What princess?"

"Where is she?" Willow demanded as she came up to console.

"What is this?" Han demanded.

At Artoo's whistle, Threepio answered. "She's in detention block AA-23." He listened to another remark by Artoo and gravely spoke. "Oh, my. She's scheduled to be terminated."

"Terminated?!" Willow shrieked. "Oh, God, we have to do something!"

"Okay, what the hell are you guys talking about?" Xander asked.

"Princess Leia," Willow said. "She's the one who put the message into Artoo, she owned the droids, she-----"

"We'll explain later!" Luke interrupted. "Right now, we have to get her out of there!"

"Now, hold on, kid," Han said. "The old man said for us to stay put until he got the tractor beam down."

"But he didn't know she was here!" Luke said. "Artoo, find the plans for that cell block, we need to find out how to get there."

Han sat defiantly into a chair. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"But they're going to execute her!" Luke said. "A minute ago, you said you didn't want to just wait here to be captured, now all you want to do is stay?"

Han seemed a bit confused so Xander inserted himself into the conversation. "I think he means marching into the detention area isn't what he had in mind."

"Kid's right," Han agreed. "I break _out_ of jails, not _into _them."

"But they're going to kill her!" Buffy pressed.

"Better her than me."

"Dammit, where the hell is your sense of honor?" Willow called out.

Han looked up in thought. "Near as I remember, I traded it in for a pack of Sullustian wine about three years ago."

"Come on, Solo," Buffy said. "She needs our help."

"Cry me a river."

"She's beautiful," Buffy tried to tempt him.

"So's life."

"She's rich," Luke suddenly said.

That got Han's attention. "Rich?" Chewbacca let out a warning growl.

Seeing where Luke was going, Buffy went on. "Yeah...rich…powerful…"

Han shook himself. "Wait a minute, she was rich on Alderaan but Alderaan ain't there anymore. And I hate to add what will undoubtedly sound like a petty concern to a galactic tragedy but my fifteen thousand was on that planet too when it went up. Who's going to pay me?"

Luke faltered a bit so Buffy leaped in. "The Rebel Alliance is who."

"And the Imperial Senate!" Luke quickly added.

"And," Willow finished. "She's sole surviving heir to the entire off-world holdings of the Royal House of Alderaan."

Luke nodded eagerly. "Rescue her and the reward will be…"

"What?" Han asked as the younger man trailed off.

"Well, more wealth than you can imagine!"

Xander snorted. "Don't be so sure, buddy, he can imagine quite a lot."

"You'll get it," Luke said.

"I better," Han noted with a hint of danger.

"You will."

Han slowly nodded. "All right, what's the plan?"

Luke frowned for a moment. He'd been so focused on getting Han to agree that the actual rescue plan had taken a backseat. Thinking fast, he grabbed a pair of cuffs from a nearby rack and moved to Chewbacca. "Okay, I'm going to put these on you…"

Chewbacca let out a howl and threw his arms up. "Okay…" Luke swallowed as he backed up. "Ah…Buffy, you put those on him." He held the cuffs to the Slayer, who widened her eyes in shock.

Laughing, Xander took the cuffs away. "Relax, Chewie, I think I know what they got planned."

Han smirked as he rose up. "Chewie doesn't take well to captivity. Long story, no need to get into it now."

Xander made sure the cuffs were on as they headed to the door. "Let's hope we can keep this going for a while."

"Ah, excuse me, sirs," Threepio spoke up. "What should Artoo and I do if we are discovered?"

"Lock the door," Luke suggested.

"And hope they don't have blasters," Han added.

"That's not reassuring," Threepio noted as the group made their way back into the hallways. Buffy, Luke and Willow had replaced their helmets as the odd procession made their way down the hallways.

"I miss graveyards," Buffy intoned. "I really do now."

"Buffy, can we skip the g-word in these circumstances?" Xander asked. "Cause as omens go, it's pretty foreboding."

Han shook his head and muttered to his partner. "I swear, the reward had better be damn big for this." The Wookie made a doubting growl as they walked on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx**

**Bit short but I wanted to save the rescue for the next chapter. Hopefully coming soon.**


	13. A Typical Scoobie Rescue

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

A Typical Scoobie Rescue

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Xander asked as the group made their way down the hallways.

"I saw the map," Han replied. "This is the right way."

"You're sure we're not lost, boss?"

"Corellians never get lost."

"What about that time on Nova Tandor?"

"That doesn't count. Nielsan wasn't a Corellian. Besides, I was drunk."

The conversation did not give Buffy and Willow much hope. The small group was walking down the hallways of the Death Star. They'd get an odd look now and then from some officers and technicians but no one pressed them for questions. Chewbacca was obviously not happy about being made to look like a prisoner and Buffy could tell it was taking all the Wookie's self-control not to tear into any of the stormtroopers. At the moment, their makeshift disguise was doing its work.

"Maybe they should have put some maps to this place up," Buffy quietly said. Despite her hushed tone, the speakers in the helmet still echoed a bit loudly but luckily there wasn't anyone around to hear.

"We're on the right path," Han repeated. He pointed to some elevators nearby. "See, there we go. Take those right up to the detention area. Short and simple."

"Half of which describes you," Buffy couldn't help noting. Han glared at her as the group stood by the elevator doors. Xander reached to hit the button and waited a few moments. He reached to hit it again but a glare from Han stopped him. The doors opened and the group piled inside.

An officer was moving in but Han held up his hand. "Sorry, sir, prisoner transfer. We can't take anyone else. Regulations." The office nodded and backed up as the doors slid shut.

As they headed up, Luke tried in vain to keep the binders on Chewbacca's wrists. Seeing it, Han shook his head. "This is not going to work?"

"Why didn't you say so before?"

"I did say before, remember?"

"Relax, Han," Xander said. "We've broken into military places before."

"Oh yeah and the last time worked so well," Willow couldn't help muttering.

The doors opened and they entered a small room with red lighting under the metallic floor. A set of steps led to the long narrow hallway filled with cells. There were a half dozen guards, all of whom gave the group confused looks. The chief officer stepped forward to gaze at Chewbacca disdainfully. "Where are you taking this…thing?"

Chewbacca snarled at that but Luke spoke up. "Ah, prisoner transfer from cell bock 1138." Buffy could see from the corner of her eye that Han and Xander were scanning the entire room, noting where the alarms and cameras were.

The officer was obviously skeptical. "I wasn't notified. I'll have to check it." He made a quick motion and two guards stepped forward, both with blasters drawn.

"They're not going for it…" Buffy muttered.

"Plan B," Han intoned.

"Which is?"

"Right up our alley," Xander answered.

As soon as the lead guard got in close, Chewbacca thrust out a paw with all the force he could muster. The guard went sailing across the room. "He's loose!" Han yelled as he backed up.

Luke all but threw his long rifle into Chewbacca's hands before yelling "He'll tear us all apart!" Chewbacca used the rifle to blast one of the guards as the rest were stunned at the sudden moves. In seconds, the room was filled with the smell of ozone as blaster bolts flew around Chewbacca.

The lead officer was savvy enough to realize that even a raw trooper could not miss such a large target at this close a range while the bolts seemed to be focused on the cameras and alarms inside the room. He was reaching for the alarm when a bolt caught the top of his cap. He was thrown back in time to catch another blaster to the chest.

Han moved his aim from the officer to the other guards. Luke had grabbed another blaster to fire at another guard in the corner. Willow was helping to fire at the cameras alongside Xander. Through the chaos, Buffy saw another guard running from the cells. She raced in, leaping up the steps to meet him with a kick. She couldn't get as much lift as she'd like due to the heavy armor but it did stun him. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, she swung him hard into a wall and punched him in the jaw. This time, the armor helped add strength and knocked him cold.

She sent him shoving down the small steps as the blaster fire died down. As it did, she could hear a loud alarm going up. Han moved to where the officer was sprawled on the console and pulled him off. As he dropped unceremoniously to the floor, Han shook his head. "Why'd he have to pick the alarm button to die on? Stupid officers…"

Willow moved to a console and tried to bring up an information page. Again, she was both surprised and slightly disappointed that the computers in this galaxy were so easy to use. It took her only moments to find what she was looking for. "Cell 2187."

"Go get her, we'll try to handle things here." Han moved to turn the alarm off and pressed a button to activate a communicator. "Ah, hello, this is block AA-23…Situation fine, everything is normal."

"_What's going on?"_ the voice on the other end demanded. _"We've detected some sort of energy bursts and all your cameras are off!"_

"Ah, slight weapons malfunction," Xander interjected. "Everything's under control now, we're fine, we're all fine here…How are you?"

_"We're sending a squad up now."_

"No, no!" Han protested. "We have a, um, a reactor leak here. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak, very dangerous."

"Yeah, you know how it is," Xander stated. "We've got to get decom ready and checking all weapons. Hey, you wanna explain to the commander how radiation filled this entire level?"

_"I am the commander."_ Han and Xander both winced as the tone grew even more suspicious. _"Who is this? What's your identification number?"_

Xander tried to think of something but before he could, Han lifted his blaster and fired a single shot into the console. Xander looked over to Willow. "And this is why telemarketing hasn't taken off in this galaxy."

"Boring conversation anyway," Han muttered. "Red, you better tell the kids that we're gonna have company!"

Willow paused to take off her helmet, taking a gulp of air as she made her way up the steps. She headed over to where Luke and Buffy were looking at cell numbers. Luke finally found 2187 and hit the button. He and Buffy entered and stared at the figure lying on the small metal cot.

Princess Leia didn't look all that different from the holographic image. She was dressed completely in white with an odd bun style to her hair. She rose up on an elbow and looked at the two with mild interest. "A little short for stormtroopers, aren't you?"

"Huh? Oh, this." Luke pulled off his helmet, Buffy following his example. "I'm Luke Skywalker, this is Buffy Summers. We're here to rescue you."

"You're…who?" a baffled Leia asked.

"We're here to rescue you, that hard a concept to grasp?" Buffy responded.

"We found your droids," Luke clarified. "And we have Ben Kenobi with us."

"Ben Kenobi!" Leia shot to her feet. "Where is he?"

"Leia?" Willow entered, smiling wide as she hugged the surprised Princess. "Oh my God, it's so good to see you again!"

"Willow?" Leia gasped. "How…how did you get here?"

"Not United, I can tell you that," Buffy muttered as they got ready to leave.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I tell you, he is here."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Grand Moff Tarkin said with obvious skepticism. He was seated at his seat at the head of the conference table. The man still looked much the same as when Darth Vader had first met him during the construction of the Death Star twenty years earlier. His hair was grey and the wrinkles on his face more pronounced but he still carried himself with incredible authority and condensation.

The man was a fool if he truly thought his desires could be kept secret from Vader. He knew Tarkin planned to use the political clout he already had combined with the command of the Death Star to increase his power in the Empire. The man might even have the mad ambition to overthrow the Emperor. As if this technological terror could equal the might of the greatest Sith Lord of all.

It rankled Vader to act the subordinate to Tarkin but the Emperor's instructions had been clear. He wanted to see how Tarkin would act if he truly believed he had such power at his disposal. "Control takes many aspects, Lord Vader. I allow Tarkin to be let out on his leash, to see how he handles such a position. If he is truly loyal, he will prove it. If not…it shall be your job to tighten his leash."

So far, Vader had seen Tarkin was acting as if he was the authority for the Empire. When he had first conceived testing the Death Star on Alderaan, Vader had felt the Emperor should be consulted over one of the core worlds but was overruled. Actually wiping the planet out was a foolish move. It wasn't the massive deaths, although the shockwaves in the Force would take a while to settle. But for Tarkin to hand the Rebellion such an excellent propaganda tool was idiotic.

"What makes you think so?" Tarkin asked.

"A tremor in the Force," Vader answered. "The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old master."

"Surely he must be dead by now," Tarkin said.

"Don't underestimate the Force," Vader intoned. "Kenobi was one of the last of the great Jedi Knights, powerful in the Force. He can do things that would seem impossible to most men, men who put more faith in who can only understand machines and what they can see and touch."

Tarkin scowled. "Men like me, is that what you're implying? I tell you, Vader, the Jedi are extinct, their fire has gone out of the universe. As you should well know, having helped bring that about." He was about to go on when a beeping sound echoed from the console on his desk. Moving to it, Tarkin hit a button. "Yes?"

The voice on the other end was nervous, instantly letting both men know the man would rather be doing anything else than say this. "_Sir, we have a major disturbance in cell block AA-23. All cameras and alarms are off but we did manage to record some gunfire…"_

"The Princess?" Tarkin was instantly on edge. "Put all sections on alert! I want her and any other Rebels found at once!" He shut off the communicator as he glanced up at Vader, somehow knowing the Sith Lord had to be smiling under the mask.

"Obi-Wan is here. The Force is with him."

"If you're right," Tarkin began in a dangerous tone. "He must not be allowed to escape."

"Escape may not be his plan. I must face him." Vader gave Tarkin a cold look. "Alone." He spun on his heel and marched out of the room, his cape flowing behind as Tarkin brooded.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Xander was leaning against an elevator hatchway, listening to it. He heard what sounded like something being attached to the other side of the metal wall. He stiffened as he backed up. "Han, they're trying to blow their way in!" He moved to where Solo and Chewbacca stood by the console. Han had been trying in vain to find a way to head off the troopers but his lack of understanding of Imperial systems hindered his progress.

"Get behind me! Get behind me!" Han yelled as he backed up, Chewbacca and Xander falling in behind him. There was a loud hissing sound as flames erupted from the hatchway in a circular pattern. There was a loud bang as the doorway erupted outward. The second Han saw the white armor on the other side, he opened fire, cutting the first trooper down. He landed awkwardly on the side of the wall as another stepped over his body. A quick burst from Xander cut him down as well but the rest of the troopers began firing into the room. The three smugglers were forced to back up into the cell hallway.

Buffy, Luke and Willow were leading Leia out of the cell when the trio came up. "Oh, this is Xander, Han Solo and Chewbacca," Willow quickly said. "We hired them to help us out."

Buffy looked over Han's shoulder to see white helmets filling the room. "Damn, they work fast."

"We can't go out that way," Han observed.

"Looks like you cut off our only escape route," Leia noted sardonically. "This is a detention area, you know. They don't build these things with multiple exits."

Han turned to glare at her. "Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, your Highness." A laser bolt hit just over his head and everyone ducked for cover in the wide frames of the hallway. Han, Xander and Chewbacca were on one side with Buffy, Willow, Luke and Leia on the other. Luke, Han, Chewbacca, Xander and Buffy all started to fire down the hallway.

In seconds, the hallway was filled with smoke as the stormtroopers did their best to attack. They were being careful as every time one got too close, he was cut down by the fire coming down the hallway.

Luke managed to pull out his communicator to speak into it. "See-Threepio, See-Threepio, do you copy?" He ducked a bolt and spoke again. "Are there any other ways out of the detention area?"

Buffy fired wildly down the hallway, just trying to keep someone's head down. She saw Luke holding the communicator to his ear and then cursing. "There isn't any other way out!" he yelled.

Buffy looked to the redhead. "Willow, can you do anything?"

Willow shook her head. "I need to be able to concentrate to make it work right!" She yelped as a bolt nearly singed her hair. "And that's not easy to do right now!"

Han fired a burst that struck another stromtrooper down before glancing to the others. "I can't hold them off forever! Now what?"

"This is some rescue." Everyone glanced to the rather annoyed looking princess. "When you idiots came in here, did you even _have _a plan for getting out?"

Han pointed at the other side of the hall. "That side's the brains of the outfit, sweetheart! We just drive the bus!"

"Well, I didn't…" Luke was interrupted when Leia yanked the rifle out of his hands and fired a blast at the grating right by Han.

The smuggler jumped as debris hit his leggings. "Oh, great, the princess has flipped," Xander intoned.

"Someone has to save our skins," Leia snapped. She pulled up the hem of her long dress and fired several shots down the hallway as she crossed it. She paused by the opening to call out. "Into the garbage cute, flyboys!" She tossed the blaster back to a startled Luke before leaping into the grating.

Willow shrugged before joining her. Chewbacca crossed to it and leaned in to sniff the chute. He rose up and growled. "Get in there, you big furry oaf!" Han yelled at his co-pilot. "I don't care what you smell!"

Chewbacca leaned back in but was still hesitant. Buffy launched a sharp kick that nailed the Wookie in the rear, sending him sliding down the chute with a howl. Buffy smiled at the men. "Women and Wookies first!" She leapt into the chute.

Luke, Han and Xander kept firing down the hallway. "Wonderful girl you dragged us after!" Han yelled at Luke. "Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her!"

"Funny, that describes Buffy pretty well too," Luke couldn't help responding.

Xander fired before yelling at Luke. "Get in there!" The young man quickly leapt into the chute. Xander fired a trio of shots before looking at Han. "You realize, of course, I'm going to be looking for a raise when this is all done."

Han just glared at him as Xander went into the chute. He fired a couple more blasts and then, with a howl, leapt into the chute himself. He slid down the long metallic chute for a few moments before he found himself landing right into a heap of trash.

Han shook himself as he got to his feet. The garbage bay was about thirty feet high and fifteen feet wide. The bay was filled with liquid up to the knees with heaps of garbage around. Chewbacca was by the door, trying in vain to open it.

"Wow," Han stated as he looked around. "The garbage chute was a really wonderful idea." He glared at Leia who was in a corner of the dump. "What an incredible smell you've discovered!"

"I see you've rubbed off on him," Buffy noted to Xander.

"Actually, he was already this way when we met."

Han shook his head as he aimed his rifle at the door. "Let's get out of here…"

"No, wait!" Luke said but it was too late as Han fired. The bolt hit the doorway and began to ricochet around the room, everyone ducking as it bounced on the metal walls before landing in the water.

"Will you forget it, I already tired, it's magnetically sealed!" Luke yelled.

"Put that thing away before you get us all killed!" Leia added.

Han seemed thrown by her attitude. "Oh, absolutely, your Worship. Look, I had everything under control before you led us down here!"

"Oh, yeah, you had it under control, like Custer you had it under control!" Buffy yelled back.

"Okay, let's just calm down here," Willow said, holding up her hands. "Happy thoughts, happy thoughts."

Han just shook his head. "It's not going to take them long to figure out what happened to us."

Leia snorted. "Well, it could be worse."

Buffy, Xander and Willow all closed their eyes and winced as if in pain. "Don't SAY that!" Xander moaned.

Leia frowned. "Why not?"

A loud and inhuman snarl filled the entire bay, causing everyone to freeze in place. "That's why not," Xander sighed as if this was expected.

Luke peered around. "There's something alive down here."

"It's just your imagination, kid," Han said.

Buffy stiffened suddenly as she felt something on her leg. "In that case, his imagination just brushed past my leg."

Luke saw what looked like a tentacle sinking under the water. "Did you see that?" He was pointing when a thick tendril suddenly snaked around his leg and pulled him under the water. "Luke!" Buffy screamed as she made his way toward the spot where he was taken. The others were as concerned, both Han and Leia calling out Luke's name.

As suddenly as he was taken, Luke burst from the water, gasping out, a thick tentacle wrapped around his body. Han tried to grab him but whatever it was holding Luke was strong. "Shoot it!" Luke croaked out.

"Where?"

"ANYWHERE!" Han backed up to fire blindly into the water. The creature howled and Luke was dragged back under. Buffy turned and flipped her blaster over to Willow. "Be right back," she said before diving into the water before a startled Han and Leia.

There was a pause and then Buffy burst from the water, her hands wrapped around a tentacle as she tried to punch it before being yanked back down. Her head ducked up to take a breath before going back under again. Han glanced over at Xander and Willow. The two simply stood with almost bored expressions. "Shouldn't we help her?"

"Nah, she's got it," Xander said.

"Are you sure?" Leia asked. "I mean, that thing…"

Buffy broke up at the surface again, gasping as a tentacle was wrapped all around her while she held the end of it in her hands. "Buff, need a hand?" Xander called out.

"Nope, I'm good!" Buffy yelled before she yanked the tentacle into the water. Willow gave a thumbs-up as Xander leaned on the wall and brushed a hand at his uniform and once again Han wondered just what he'd gotten himself into.

Buffy broke at the surface again, holding up Luke with an arm. She brushed a suddenly limp tentacle off her as she helped the blonde-haired man to a small heap. Both had their hair soaked back but Buffy seemed the better for it. "Are you all right?" she asked Luke.

He nodded as he took some gulps of air. "Thanks…I owe you."

"Better believe it," Buffy said with a grin.

Xander closed his eyes and leaned to Willow. "Tell me she's not flirting with him, please."

"He's better than Angel or Riley," Willow was quick to say.

"But we both know how chaotic her-----" Xander was interrupted by a loud rumble that shook the room. Everyone was on alert, looking around as they tried to find the source. It was Leia who realized what it was. "The walls are moving!"

"Oh, God," Willow gasped. "This isn't a refuse, it's a compactor!"

"Oh, shit," Xander said. "We gotta get something to brace it!" He raced to where Han and Chewbacca stood, trying to lift up a long rod of some sort to brace it in between the walls. Buffy and Leia moved each side, trying to push it but it was like standing up to a tractor.

Buffy looked to Luke. "Can you raise Threepio? Maybe he can stop this!"

Luke reached to his belt and then started to fumble around it. "Oh, don't even…" Buffy said.

"It must have been kicked loose during the fight!"

Buffy cursed as she pressed herself back against the wall. "This was not how I wanted to get thinner!"

The long pole was getting crushed by the oncoming walls as everyone began to bunch together. Willow closed her eyes, trying to block out the metal, the fear, anything that could distract her as she went through her mental spellbook. She reached out with her hands and felt them touch metal as she started to whisper.

Buffy was leaning against the metal wall, staring at the other one coming at her and realizing she was going to be able to put her feet on it in a minute. She glanced to where Willow was standing, whispering to herself. The wiccan tried to put all the focus she could on her spells while reaching out for this Force and try to use it, perhaps as a boost…

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and Buffy could swear she saw some sort of glow in them. A burst of light swept from Willow and out through her palms to touch the walls. They suddenly flowed backward as if smashed with a starcruiser, the air filled with the howls of breaking wheels, motors and other machinery. The walls finally froze as the group stared in shock at Willow.

"Will?" Xander said, reaching to touch her shoulder. He yelped as he felt a massive static shock and jerked his hand back. Willow blinked and shook her head. "Whoa…that was…bigger than I expected."

Buffy leaned in. "Willow? Are you…all right?"

Willow nodded. "Fine," she squeaked out.

"What was that?" Leia asked, her face marked with astonishment.

"Just helping," Willow said as she swayed in place.

"Got it!" Luke yelled as he held up the communicator. He flicked it on. "Threepio? Threepio, do you copy?"

There was a burst of static and Threepio's voice answered. "We read you sir. We had to vacate the control room but have found a new area by the ship."

"Stand by, we'll need your help opening a door." Luke looked over to Willow. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh, sure," Willow nodded. "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!" she called out before flopping face-first into the water.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**As you can see, starting some mild changes here. Hope you all stick around for more. **


	14. Frying Pan, Meet Fire

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Frying Pan, Meet Fire

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy sighed as she dropped the last of the armor to her feet. "God, I hate that stuff!" She shook herself, letting out some of the aches she'd felt having to put up with all that armor. Luke had already dropped his while Willow was leaning against a wall, out of breath.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Xander asked as he rubbed Willow's shoulder.

The redhead nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm ok. Little weak but I'll be fine."

"I still can't believe you did that," Leia said, shaking her head. "How did you do it?"

"Eat my Wheaties?" Willow offered.

The reference obviously confused Leia but before she could speak, Han brushed past her. "Well," the pilot sardonically announced as he threw aside his officer's shirt. "If we can avoid any more female advice, maybe we can get out of here."

He looked to Xander. "You follow me and Chewie, your gal pals can keep the Princess safe and--------"

"Hey!"

Han turned to see Leia glaring at him. Coming off commanding when you stood several inches shorter than an experienced smuggler was difficult but Leia was achieving the effect spectacularly well. "Listen," she said more quietly. "I don't know who you are or where you came from. I am grateful for how you helped me." She looked to them all. "That goes for all of you." She returned to Han. "But from here on in, you do what I say. Understand?"

She turned and began to walk down the hallway where Chewbacca was already moving. Han just stared before moving to catch up. "Listen, your Worshipfullness, let's get one thing straight here. I take orders from just one person, me!"

"It's a wonder you're still alive," Leia fired back. She glared at Chewbacca as she brushed against him. "Can someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?"

Han threw up his hands and looked exasperated at Xander. "No reward is worth this!"

Buffy looked to Willow with a slight smile. "Funny. I didn't think I was going to like her this much."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stealth in a group was never an easy thing. Adding a seven foot tall fur-clad figure to it made it even more difficult yet somehow, the group managed to make their way to the landing bay area. Luke raised the communicator to his lips. "Threepio, do you copy?"

"I do, sir," Threepio's voice came in.

"Where are you?"

"In the main hanger by the ship," Threepio replied. "We're undetected for now. I must inform you, sir, there are several stormtroopers by the ship."

Luke glanced into the bay. "We're right over you. Stand by."

Leia turned to Han, pointing at the _Falcon_. "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought."

"Nice," Han snapped, not bothering to wonder if he'd been insulted or complimented. "Come on." He jerked his head as the group moved forward. They stopped in place as they saw a squad of stromtroopers coming in from the other direction. The troopers also stopped, momentarily startled by the sight of the escapees. "It's them!" the leader yelled. "Blast them!"

Han handled the situation instinctively by firing a single shot that took down the leader. Chewbacca let out a loud Wookie howl that caused the stromtroopers to instinctively back away. Han yelled himself as he began to chase them. Xander rolled his eyes before following, Chewbacca lumbering behind.

"He certainly has courage," Leia had to say.

Luke snorted. "Yeah, what good is it going to do us if it gets him killed?" He shrugged as the rest of them raced off.

Han was letting out a classic Correllian yell as he chased the Stormtroopers down the hallway. Xander was doing his best to keep up, still unsure what strategy (if any) Han was using here. He saw Han rounding a corner and then his yell turning to one of surprise. Xander saw why when he ran into Han and saw that the half-dozen troopers had run into what looked to be a docking bay with at least a hundred more all staring in surprise at them.

"Time to take the Monty Python Knights of the Grail route," Xander intoned.

"Huh?" Han managed.

"Run away!" Xander yelled, firing a few shots into the bay. He and Han immediately took off running. Chewbacca was hanging in the hallway and upon seeing them coming, turned to run. All three rushed as fast as they could, barely pausing to fire back.

Up ahead, a pair of blast doors were starting to close. Chewbacca managed to get in, followed by Xander. Han paused to turn and fire a few shots at their pursuers before leaping through the rapidly closing door. A pair of bolts from Xander's gun blasted the controls to seal it off.

Han leaned back on the door, panting for breath. "Well…looks like there's a few less guys…at tomorrow's roll call."

Xander wiped his brow. "Let's get to the ship."

Han nodded. "And once we do, we set a new record for taking off."

Xander frowned. "What about the others?"

Han snorted. "They got us into this mess in the first place. They can handle it themselves!" He began to move but stopped as Xander grabbed his arm. Turning, Han saw the young man's face showing more resolve than he ever had before.

"We're not leaving Buffy and Willow," Xander stated. "We made a deal with them, remember?"

"Junior, we don't owe anyone anything! What kind of deal has us risking our necks like this?"

Xander shook his head. "We're not leaving them, Han. End of discussion."

"Kid…"

Xander got right in his face, actually poking Han in the chest with a finger. "Han…I call you 'Boss' because I know it annoys you. Don't pick now as a time to start taking me seriously."

Han looked at him, then at Chewbacca. The Wookie crossed his arms, letting Han know what side of the fence he was falling on. Rolling his eye, the smuggler started off. "I am asking for double the price on this, I swear…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Willow yelped as a blaster bolt cut over her head. She, Leia, Luke and Buffy were rushing down a hallway, Luke pausing to turn and fire some shots at the pursuing stormtroopers. Buffy saw a break in the hallway up ahead. "Will! Get Leia down the right side, we'll take the left!"

With a nod, Willow led Leia to the hallway on the right. She hit a button to instantly shut the door behind them. Luke and Buffy ran to the other doorway and only Buffy's reflexes kept her from running right off the short ramp in front of her. She reached to grab Luke, the young man teetering on the edge before backing up. "Okay…maybe right would have been better," Buffy said.

A blaster bolt ripped past her shoulder and she and Luke spun around to fire at the troopers behind them. Buffy moved to hit a button and shut the large metal door to cut them off. Luke backed up to fire a bolt that destroyed the lock mechanism.

Buffy took a moment to take in their surroundings. There were in some sort of large tunnel, a wide chasm separating them from a doorway on the other side. Buffy leaned to glance down and saw there were at least a few hundred feet above any sort of surface. She bit her lip as she looked across the chasm. "Try to find the controls that'll extend the bridge."

Luke looked sheepishly at the smoking console on the side. "Um, I think I just blasted them."

Buffy just shook her head at him. "You are the worst rescuer ever."

Luke looked around, staring up to see a girder above them. He glanced to the belt he wore and was reaching to it when a blaster bolt ripped past him. He and Buffy leaped back into the archway as a group of stormtroopers fired down at them from a walkway above. Luke leaned out to fire back, striking one trooper. The man let out a yell of pain as he fell off the edge and sailed down the tunnel, his scream echoing for several moments.

"Here," Luke handed the blaster to Buffy who started to fire back as well. Luke reached to his belt and pulled out a small grapple. He unwound the long cable it attached to, grateful for once that the Empire was so thorough.

Despite the sounds of blaster fire, Buffy could hear a hissing behind her. "They're trying to burn through!" she yelled. She fired another bolt, sending one trooper down. Luke had the grapple out, letting it spin in his hands as he nodded to Buffy. She nodded back and fired a barrage of shots at the troopers above. Luke stepped out and let the grapple fly up. It hooked onto the girder above, the wire managing to loop around part of the girder and tighten.

Buffy glanced behind them as the door started to rise up a bit and she saw a dozen pairs of white boots waiting eagerly. She fired another pair of shots at the troopers before moving to Luke. She grabbed him around the waist as he took the line in his own hands. Impulsively, she kissed him on the lips. "For luck," she said to his surprised look.

Luke kicked off and the two swung over the chasm. They were just taking off when the doorway behind them opened and the troopers piled out. They landed on the bridgeway on the other side, Luke quickly unsnapping the cable and firing a few shots at the troopers across as he and Buffy ran off.

"I take back the rescue comment," Buffy said as they raced down the corridors.

"No problem," Luke said with a grin. "Let's get to the ship."

"Great plan," Buffy said, rubbing her lips as they ran.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kenobi glanced carefully into a corridor before entering it. It had been a long time since he had needed to use his skills in such a dangerous setting but they still served him well. Maneuvering the thin ledge around the tractor beam's power station had been difficult but he had managed to deactivate it. Now, he just had to reach the ship.

He had become aware of the heightened tension among the troopers and doubted it was all for him. He had heard snippets of conversation indicating some sort of high-profile prisoner had escaped. Somehow, someway, Kenobi knew Luke and the others had to be involved in this.

_I shouldn't be surprised_, the aged Jedi wryly thought. _He does have his father's spirit in him after all._

He hefted his lightsaber in one hand as he made his way toward the docking bay, his hood up. He was close and figured he could spend a few moments hiding before meeting the others…

He stopped as he felt the presence. He had felt it before but hadn't been able to fully pin it down. It was the sharpness and maturity of the mind that had thrown him, not to mention the darkness it carried. Kenobi closed his eyes. He'd known this was coming. He'd known it for twenty years but now that the moment was truly upon him…

"A Jedi knows no fear," he whispered before opening his eyes and heading down the hallway. He slowed his pace, keeping it calm and strong as he turned the corner.

And saw him.

The vision was in black, marred only by the red blade he carried. He stood in place as the black mask focused right at Obi-Wan. The elder Jedi ignited his blue blade, holding it carefully as he walked forward. Vader also strode forward, confident as the two sized one another up.

Vader was thrown by how much older his former teacher looked. He was confident he would be victorious but knew better than to underestimate Kenobi. The man no doubt had kept his skills sharp during his self-imposed exile and while Vader was still agile, the black armor he wore slowed his movements.

Despite all he had read and seen and despite his preparations, Kenobi was unprepared for the effect of seeing Vader this close. The sheer blackness the man gave out was jarring. Kenobi had kept himself in shape well but if the armor afforded Vader any of the advantages Grievous had, he was in for a fight.

"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan," Vader stated. "The circle is complete."

"I knew you would be," Kenobi replied. There wasn't a doubt in his mind Vader was going to kill him. Oh, he'd give it his all but he'd known ever since he felt Vader's presence that this was coming. Words he'd spoken over two decades earlier came back to him.

_"Why do I keep thinking you're going to be the death of me?"_

Vader tilted his head slightly as he looked Kenobi over. "You haven't aged well, Obi-Wan. But then twenty years in the desert will do that to you." He shook his head. "Tattooine. Still the strategist. You knew that would be the last planet in the galaxy I would think of to search for you."

Kenobi kept silent, doing his best to shield his thoughts and hide the true reason he had stayed on that world. He hefted his blade up and Vader did the same. "Have you tended to whatever errand you had here?" the Dark Lord asked. "The tractor beam, perhaps?"

"I have deactivated it, yes," Kenobi calmly said.

"No matter. There is no way to escape."

"Never doubt one's abilities, Vader," Kenobi said. He couldn't refer to him by that other name. "I thought I taught you that lesson a long time ago."

"Once I was the learner," Vader admitted. "But now I am the master."

"Only a master of evil, Darth," Kenobi said, deliberately emphasizing the Sith title. He quickly lunged forward with a strike Vader managed to block. They spent several moments in silence, clashing their blades against each other, each trying to find a break in the other's defenses while countering the strikes.

Each realized that this encounter was much different than the one they'd had so long ago. Kenobi was slowed by age while Vader was held back by the armor he wore. But each could also tell that their opponent was playing for keeps and there would be no quarter given.

"Your powers are weak, old man," Vader taunted as he tried at Kenobi's head only to be blocked away. The two moved in close, their blades working against each other before thrusting away. Vader shook his head. "You should not have come back."

Kenobi appeared quite calm as he deflected another strike. "You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Vader hissed as he lunged. "Enough of your lectures!" Kenobi backed up against the assault, trying to block as well as he could. "Why don't you stand your ground?" Vader demanded as he kept up the strikes. "Have you learned fear in your age?"

"A Jedi never forgets how to die, Vader," Kenobi snapped as he launched a counter-attack that took the Sith by surprise. The hallway was filled by the sounds of clashing blades as the two continued their battle.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Willow and Leia paused to take a breather. Willow craned her head around the small doorway to look behind them. "I think we lost them."

Leia took in a deep breath. "Hope so." She winced as she rubbed her arm.

Willow looked to her with concern. "Are you okay?"

Leia sighed deeply. "They…questioned me on the Rebel base."

Willow's eyes widened. "Oh, God, Leia…Did they…"

"Drugs, mind probes, some electro shocks," the princess answered in a calm voice. Her eyes misted. "But then they brought me to the command center and let me see…" She choked, unable to say it.

Willow sighed as she moved to hug the princess. "I'm so sorry…I can't even begin…"

Leia rubbed at her eyes. "I already…cried for it…" She straightened up. "There's no time for this now."

Willow held her arm so Leia focused on her. "There's always time to feel human," she whispered.

Leia smiled. "Thank you." With a deep breath, the two moved out.

It took them only a few minutes to reach a small alcove by the hanger bay. Han, Chewbacca and Xander were already there, all tense as they looked out. Xander gave the two a smile while Han just sniffed. "Wonderful, the high and mighty have joined us."

"High and mighty," Leia sniffed back. "Two words obviously never thrown at you at any point in your life."

The sound of racing footsteps echoed as Buffy and Luke joined them. "What kept you?" Xander asked.

"Ah, you know me," Buffy quipped. "I can't be a rude guest and just leave without saying my goodbyes."

Luke nodded towards the bay. "Is the ship okay?"

"Looks that way," Han stated. They all could see a half dozen stormtroopers standing at the ramp, all on alert. "They must have found those guys we kayoed earlier and upped the guard."

"We can't just go in blasting," Xander noted.

"In a few minutes, we may not have a choice," Han replied. "We may have to chance it and make a quick take-off."

"Wait, what about Ben?" Luke asked.

"We can't do a number on everyone in the base, Luke!" Han snapped at him. "He knew the risks when he decided to take out that tractor beam. We'll give it a few more minutes but then we've got to move!"

Luke wasn't happy about it and was ready to argue when something happened on the other side of the bay. Kenobi and Vader made their way down the hallway by the large doorway adjacent to the bay. The two were still dueling it out, spinning around each other as they battled. They finally paused, facing each other, lightsabers extended, each waiting for the other's next move.

The leader of the stromtroopers jerked his head and the squad broke away from the _Falcon_ to aid Vader. From their spot, the rescue group couldn't see what had distracted the troopers but weren't about to argue with it. "Come on," Han said as they broke away and headed toward the ship.

Luke slowed as he saw Kenobi across the wide elevator that was currently lowered. "Ben?" he whispered as he headed over. Buffy quickly went with him, both stopping before the elevator shaft.

Kenobi saw the troopers surrounding him, all with blasters aimed at him. He looked to where Luke and Buffy were and knew the moment had come. He turned to give Vader a small half-smile. Without warning, he spun and threw out his hand. His lightsaber arced through the air end on end. It sailed over the heads of the stormtroopers and over the wide elevator shaft. Reflexively, Buffy caught it, staring at it dumbly.

Kenobi shut his eyes and drew himself up, drawing upon the lessons he had learned in exile. Vader stared, outraged at the idea of Kenobi simply giving up like this. With a savage swing, he cut his lightsaber outward in a wide arc that struck Kenobi's body.

Instead of the sound of heat searing flesh and bone and a man's scream, Kenobi simply…vanished. One moment he was there, the next there was only his robe falling to the ground.

"NO!" Luke screamed out. His cry of agony got the attention of the stormtroopers, who spun around and began firing. Luke raised his blaster to fire right back, cutting two down. Buffy was also firing, trying to drive them back. Behind the troopers, Vader was baffled at Kenobi's sudden disappearance, probing the robe with his boot as if expecting some sort of trick.

"Luke!" Leia yelled out from the ship's ramp. Han was next to her, already returning fire.

"Luke!" Buffy added her voice. "Luke, it's too late!"

"Blast the door, kid!" At Han's urging, Luke fired a blast that hit the door mechanism. The solid steel doors slid shut just as a platoon of stormtroopers raced in the hallway behind Vader. The Dark Lord had just been about to reach the doorway when they sealed before him.

Luke kept on firing, hitting one trooper, who rolled on the floor and into the wide bay. Buffy grabbed at his arm but he pushed her aside to keep firing.

_"Run, Luke, run!"_

Both Buffy and Luke started at the sound of Ben's voice echoing through the air. With a glance, they took off toward the ramp, racing into the _Flacon._ Luke slumped into a seat, staring down in shock as Buffy rested by a nearby wall. She stared at the lightsaber in her hands, still reeling from what had just happened.

In the cockpit, Han, Chewbacca and Xander were already firing up the engines. "Let's hope the old man got that beam out of commission or this will be a short trip," Han said. "Punch it!"

Chewbacca hit a button and the _Falcon's_ engines fired up. It rose up and swung back, through the force field separating the hanger from space. Han quickly added to the engine's power as they flew out.

"Set the nearest course the hell out of here, Junior!" Han ordered.

"Initiating 'the hell out of here' maneuvers!" Xander intoned as he entered some commands. "We should be home free in…"

A loud beeping came from the console and Han and Chewbacca both turned to glare at Xander. The young man winced and nodded. "Yeah, that one was my bad, I admit it."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Now I know some folks were hoping Obi-Wan would survive. I had thought of it too but when I came to the scene, I hit upon the same problem George Lucas did: after the rescue, there's really not much else for Kenobi to do in the story. Plus, having him alive would complicate a big plot twist I had in mind when I got to _Empire Strikes Back_. Not to mention his death is one of the key moments of the entire Saga as I plan to deal more with the fallout Luke and Buffy have over it in the next chapter. Down the road, this will work out in my altered plan, perhaps even better than I expected. So hope you all keep up with reading and reviewing. **


	15. Interlude of Sorts

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Interlude of Sorts

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Luke sat at the small circular table, looking at its surface dully. Buffy was nearby, Ben's lightsaber hooked onto her belt as she rubbed his shoulder gently. Leia had thrown a blanket around his shoulders but the young man barely noticed. He simply sat, staring blankly at the table, lost in his grief.

Buffy could tell how it felt. She'd only known Kenobi a short time but something about the man just made you like and trust him. She had felt some sort of connection forming when he was training Luke and did feel the touch of…something out there. He reminded her a lot of Giles, the closest she'd had to a father in quite a while. It had to be even worse for Luke.

"I'm sorry," she softly said as she rubbed his shoulders.

Luke just wavered his head a bit. "I just can't believe he's gone."

"I'm sorry, Luke," Leia said. "I know he meant a lot to you. He was a great man."

Luke sighed. "I just can't understand. He didn't fight back, he just…stood there…"

"The ways of the Jedi aren't as clear to most of us," Leia said. "He must have had some reason to let Vader-----"

"Vader!" Luke hissed. "Vader's troops killed my aunt and uncle! He killed Ben! He's taken everything I had!"

Leia's eyes glistened. "Everything I had, too, Luke."

Luke could see the pain in her eyes and remembered the ruins of the planet they'd flown through. "How do you handle it?" he asked softly.

Leia sighed. "You find something to keep you going. Stopping the Empire does it for me. Ben and Alderaan were sacrificed. We have to make that sacrifice mean something."

Han burst into the room. "Luke, we've got four TIE fighters coming in after us. I need Xander to help Chewie pilot so you can help me with the guns." He began to move off but saw Luke wasn't coming. He paused before leaning in. "Kid," he said, his voice showing true emotion to the young man for the first time. "The old man gave his life helping us escape. You want to let that go to waste?"

Luke stared at him for a long moment before rising up. He followed Han to the stairway in the middle of the ship. Han went up and Luke went down, sitting in the waiting chair. He slipped on a headset and turned on the small screen before him. It showed a grid outlining the ship. The gun controls were relatively easy and Luke knew instinctively how to handle them.

In the cockpit, Xander and Chewbacca were checking the controls as Leia sat behind them. "Here they come!" Xander intoned as four signals flashed across the screen. They heard the howls as the quartet of TIE fighters swept around the _Falcon_, all firing.

Luke and Han instantly started to fire back, sweeping back and forth in the chairs. The TIEs were faster and more maneuverable, sweeping in to fire at the ship, several bolts striking it. "They're coming in too fast!" Luke yelled.

Han was keeping himself cool as he fired back, sweeping the cannon fire in a wide arc. It caught one of the TIEs, blasting it into a fireball. The others kept up their attacks, firing at the ship. In one hallway, Willow yelped as a power conduit burst out, knocking Threepio into some wiring.

"We're taking hits!" Xander yelled into the communicator.

"Relax, she'll hold together!" Han fired back.

Artoo turned his extinguisher onto the flames in the wiring before they got out of control as the ship rocked again.

"You hear me, baby, hold together," Han muttered as he kept firing.

Luke turned his gun turret around firing at a racing TIE. He managed to catch it, destroying it. "I got it!" he laughed, looking back toward Han. "I got it!"

"Great, kid!" Han yelled back. "Don't get cocky!" He turned back to fire, missing the laugh Xander made. Luke kept on firing, managing to strike another TIE down. The fourth one kept his distance, starting to fly off but Han managed to blast him into a fireball before he got out of range.

Both men sat back, letting out breaths as they heard cheers from the rest of the ship. The only one not cheering was a golden droid who was blaming his rotund counterpart for his being stuck in a bunch of wires.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Xander was in the cockpit, checking the readings as Han sat in the pilot's seat. Leia was behind them both as Han removed his gloves, grinning at her. "Not a bad bit of rescuing, huh? Sometimes I amaze even myself."

"That doesn't sound hard," Leia dryly said. She shook her head as she leaned in. "They let us go, Captain. That's the only way to explain the ease of our escape."

"Easy?" Xander's eyes bugged out. "You call that easy?"

"Only four fighters as pursuit?" Leia pointed out. "They could have sent far more out after us if they really wanted to stop us."

"They're tracking us?" Xander asked.

At Leia's confirming nod, Han shook his head. "Not this ship, sister!"

"It's the only logical conclusion," Leia replied. "Of course, I'll understand if logic isn't your strong suit."

Han brushed the insult aside. "If you're that worried, we'll put down and search the ship."

"There's no time!" Leia snapped. "We need to get to the Rebel base as soon as possible. We can't waste any time or the Empire might destroy another world. We have to get Artoo checked out."

"Just what is so important that the droid's carrying, anyway?"

"The complete technical readout of that battle station," Leia replied. "I just hope when they study them, a weakness can be found." She sighed and shook her head. "It's not over yet."

"It is for me," Han announced. He pointed at her. "Listen, I'm not in this for your revolution, Princess and I'm sure as hell not in it for you. I'm in it for the money. I expect to be well paid for this."

Leia gave him a cool stare. "You needn't worry, Captain. I'll make sure you're rewarded for this."

She rose to her feet as Han called to her. "Where we headed anyway?"

"Fourth moon of the planet Yavin," Leia called out, looking back at him. "If money's all you love…that's all you'll get." She began to walk out, pausing by Xander. "Your boss here is quite the mercenary. I wonder if he cares about anything…or anyone."

Xander watched her go and turned back to Han. "I learn so much from you on how to handle women," he dryly stated.

Han just rolled his eyes. "She ain't a woman, Junior. Just a royal spoiled brat."

Xander narrowed his eyes at the captain. "Han…that 'brat' handled a blaster well, saved our asses in the cellblock and, oh yeah, just had her home and everyone she loved blasted to a million pieces!" He held up a hand. "Now, I know sensitivity has never been your strong suit but I think cutting her a little slack under the circumstances is warranted."

Han just stared at him. "I liked you better when you just did what I told you with no complaint." He sat back at the chair and looked over to where Leia had gone. "Still….gotta admit, she's got a lot of spirit." He smirked. "What do you think? You think a girl like her and a guy like me…"

Xander's first instinct was to say 'not a chance in Hell.' But then he considered how he, the school goofball, had managed to score with the head cheerleader and later, an incredibly hot and very inhibition free demon. He managed to shrug at his captain. "Maybe. But you should try to be careful how you handle it."

"Come on, kid. You know what a cautious guy I am."

Xander just stared as Han laid in a course.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy held the lightsaber in her hands, studying it carefully. It felt…odd in her hands. It wasn't just the way the weapon was unusual to her. It was also the fact that it actually felt as if something of Kenobi's spirit still clung to it in a way. Not to mention that his last action had been to toss it to her, leaving him defenseless.

She felt the presence of a stare and looked up to see Luke in the doorway of the small cabin. His face was sad as he carefully walked in. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm ok." Buffy bounced the lightsaber in her hands before putting it down. "You?"

Luke sat down, shaking his head. "I just…I can't understand it. Why would he do it? Why would he just let himself be killed?"

Buffy looked away as she remembered Merrick. How'd he laid down his own life to save hers and the guilt that followed. She held that memory as she spoke. "Maybe…he felt it was his time. Let's face it, Luke, Jedi aren't like you or me. I still don't get how he just vanished like that."

"Neither do I," Luke admitted. He looked down. "But he is dead. I know that much."

Buffy tapped the saber on a table. "Maybe. But then…" She looked up at him. "We both heard his voice. Death for a Jedi may not be like for regular people."

Luke glanced away. "Ben's gone. My aunt and uncle are gone. Looks like all we've got is each other."

"Yeah and I'm not much," Buffy cracked. She let the smile fade as she reached to take Luke's hand, making him look at her. "I lost everything a few months back. My mom, my world, everything was taken away from me. But I've found my friends again. I've found a way to keep going and I know it's not enough to make me feel as good as I once did. But it can at least keep me alive."

Luke managed a smile. "I guess you're right." He sighed deeply. "You were right too, back on Tatooine. About being careful what I wished for."

Buffy let out a breath. "Yeah, figures I'm always right on the stuff that sucks."

Luke reached to pick up his own lightsaber and held it up. "This was my father's," he said, his face darkening. "I don't care what I have to do…but someday, I'm going to show this to Vader…right before I kill him with it."

"Whoa, whoa," Buffy held up a hand. "Easy on the blood lust there, Cool Hand Luke. Remember what Ben said. Anger leads to the dark side. Trust me, I've touched it enough times to know that side of the fence ain't the one you want to be on."

Luke was quiet before glancing at her. "Maybe…you can make sure I don't fall that far?"

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Now, where I come from, that would be a proposition involving cash." She smirked. "But in your case, I can let it slide this once."

They shared a laugh as the ship flew on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Willow was sitting by the holographic table in the main room when Leia stormed in, her face tight. "What's wrong?" the redhead asked.

Leia angrily pointed to the cockpit. "That…man. 'Captain' Solo…he is so infuriating!"

"Ah and how has he furiated you?" Willow asked.

"It's all money about him," Leia angrily declared as she paced. "He doesn't give a damn about our struggle or what we've lost! Just how much we can pay him for this."

Willow shrugged. "He's a mercenary. That's how we managed to get him in the first place. And he was a big help rescuing you."

Leia shook her head angrily. "But that cockiness, that attitude, that assumption he's so charming…" She brushed her hair. "It just makes me mad."

Willow raised an eyebrow. Something about the way Leia went on about this man…Shaking that thought off, she stepped forward. "Leia….how are you feeling? Really?"

Leia looked at her calmly. "I…I'm handling it."

"Really?" Willow didn't bother hiding her skepticism. "Leia…he was your father. That was your home. You saw it being wiped out…"

Leia's eyes narrowed as she snapped. "You don't have to remind me, Willow!"

"No," Willow stated in a calm voice. "I think I do. Because if you don't face it now, Leia, it's going to tear you apart. It's that simple."

Leia stared at her, her eyes watering. "It hurts," she whispered.

"I know," Willow said, softer now. "It hurts me too. And it's going to hurt for a long, long time. But if you just face up to it now…maybe that hurt won't build up too bad inside you."

Leia bowed her head. "I can't…" she whispered. "I have to be strong."

"You have to be human first," Willow whispered and that was enough to let the floodgates open as the princess leaned in. The agony of all that had happened, the loss of her father, her friends and her world, it all came crashing in. Willow just held her as Leia let the pain out in tears as they raced along toward sanctuary.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A shorter chapter, I know but wanted to save the first of the Rebel base stuff on its own. And no, I am not planning a Leia/Willow pairing, no worries on that score. Hope you all hang on for the home stretch of this chapter of the saga. **


	16. Reunions, Briefings and Preparations

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Reunions, Briefings and Preparations

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Yavin was a large orange ball that dominated its solar system. Yavin IV, by contrast, was much smaller and resembled Earth a bit from the view of space. Xander noted how they had to make a long trek around the main planet to get to Yavin IV, adding to their time.

Luke and Buffy had entered the cockpit as the ship began its descent into the atmosphere. "Yavin IV," Han announced. "It's where all the idealists hang out, I hear."

"Did you send out the recognition code?" Leia asked as she and Willow entered the cockpit.

Han rolled his eyes. "Nah, getting blasted out of the sky by the Rebels is what I was going for," he sarcastically said.

The planet seemed filled with lush jungles as far as they can see. The ship was moving toward a set of large temples at the far end. Buffy could see a large tower nearby where a figure in a blue uniform and white helmet was scanning the ship as it passed. Han soon lowered the _Falcon_ to a large open rock clearing by the temple.

"Well, no one's shot at us," Xander announced. "Yet. That's better than 40 percent of our landings."

Han looked out the window to see a pair of tram vehicles coming forward with several soldiers. "Looks like we've got a reception committee."

"If you'll lower the ramp," Leia announced. "I'll have your payment brought to you."

"If you don't mind," Han retorted as he rose to his feet. "We'll go with. Just to keep an eye on our investment."

Leia glared at him. "Are you saying you don't trust me?"

"Don't take it personally," Xander said. "Han barely trusts me and Chewie."

The group headed toward the ramp as the droids came forward. "Have we arrived, Master Luke?" Threepio asked.

"We have," Luke confirmed.

"Oh thank the maker!" Threepio called out. "At last, a place of refuge!"

Han laughed. "With that Death Star coming? I'd set you straight, Goldenrod, but I hate ruining someone's day."

As the made their way down the ramp, the jungle atmosphere hit them. It wasn't as brutal as the heat of Tatooine but the humidity in the region was still a shock after the artificial cool of the Death Star and the _Falcon._ The captain of the small group of guards nodded to Leia. "Your Highness, it's good to see you again. Commander Willard is waiting for us."

Leia nodded back as they climbed into the tram. They were soon whisked into the main temple. The entire lower level had been turned into a massive hanger with fighters and other small craft scattered around. The former Sunnydale residents all recognized the popular X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters as technicians and pilots worked on them.

"Niiiice," Han sarcastically said. "You Rebels are really prepped, your Highness! No heavy combat ships and those snub fighters look older than you are!"

Leia fixed him with another piercing glare. "Some day you'll find out it's people, not things, that win wars, Captain."

"Better let the Empire know that," Buffy couldn't help muttering.

An elderly bearded man in tan robes moved up to embrace Leia. "Your Highness, thank the Force you're safe. When we heard about Alderaan, we feared the worst."

Leia broke away as she tried to keep calm. "We have no time for our sorrows, Commander. We have to download the plans kept in this droid," she pointed at Artoo. "It's the only way we can plan an attack."

Willard frowned. "We are ill prepared for an assault, Princess. We're down on pilots, experienced or otherwise. Perhaps we should evacuate."

"Smart boy!" Han grunted as Buffy elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"There isn't time!" Leia protested. "If we don't stop the Death Star now, it'll go about destroying worlds until they find us!"

Willard nodded in agreement. "Very well, your Highness." He motioned to a pair of technicians who moved to get Artoo. Threepio followed them as the rest of the group walked on and Leia began to explain what had happened.

When Leia got to the rescue, Willard turned to Luke. "Young man, I must thank you! Even if we had known where the Princess was, we'd have been hard pressed to mount a rescue operation."

"It was actually sort of improvised," Luke explained.

"All the more commendable!"

"Well, I had help from everyone," Luke was quick to point out. "Especially Han and Chewbacca."

Willard turned to them. "Ah, yes. Well, Captain, I must say------"

Han held up a hand to cut him off. "Let's just cut the formalities and spit to the important part of the princess' story. That planet killer is on its way here and I'm not in the mood to get reacquainted."

"I…don't quite follow you," Willard confessed.

"You'll live a lot longer if you do, trust me!" Han went on. "Look, I just dragged into this mess. I'm a guy with a starship for hire who made a verbal contract. I've got fifteen thousand coming to me and I want it now."

"Han!" Xander hissed at him.

"I don't believe this…" Buffy muttered.

"Rest of you can do what you want," Han declared. "But I kept my end of the bargain, time to keep yours, Princess."

Willard stared at him before glancing at Leia. "Princess…"

Leia's gaze was cold, fixed at Han while speaking to Willard. "Captain Solo may have no morals, Commander but he is right. We did promise him payment for his help."

Willard brought himself up in a businesslike manner. "Very well. I see I misjudged you, Captain."

"I'll cry later, for now I'll settle for cash," Han replied. "Small, used notes if you got 'em."

Willard sputtered. "But…this is a Rebel camp! We're hunted people, with very little Imperial currency on us!"

Han frowned. "Oh. Well…you must have some precious metals at your tech facilities."

"Yes…"

"They'll do."

Willard's eyes bugged out. "But those are critical materials! We need them for repairs, to keep our weapons and vehicles functioning!"

"Hey, I lived up to my end of a deal!" Han protested. "Even a Rebel Alliance has to do business with us 'independents' from time to time. If I put out the word you're all a bunch of swindlers…"

"Commander," Leia broke in. "Pay him what you can. Not all our stores, but what you can spare."

Willard nodded. "Very well. It will take time to have it measured and put in containers."

"Make it snappy," Han said as he backed up. "Anywhere I can wash up?"

"There's a basin in the pilot's room," a rebel nearby spoke, his voice and face sour at Han's attitude. "It's down the hall to the right."

"Thanks," Han said as he started off, Chewbacca falling in behind. Xander gazed back at Leia with an apologetic look. "Ah…I'm sorry about that, really. I kinda hoped he'd…" He broke off, shaking his head and following after Han.

"I can't believe it…" Luke muttered. "I know he talks tough but I thought when it came down to making a decision…"

"The man's amoral," Willard declared. "No conscience at all, him or his crewmates!"

"Hey!" Willow snapped. "Xander is the most decent man you're ever going to meet! And Han may be wrongheaded but deep down…"

"He's made up his mind, Will," Buffy sighed. "Not much we can do about it."

"I'm going to try," Luke said, turning and stalking after Han.

"And I'll go with in case beating sense is needed," Buffy followed.

As they went, the rebel soldier moved in. "Commander, those materials are needed. We can't waste them. Perhaps we can…compel those men to leave without them."

Leia shook her head. "No. I gave my word. And it would lead to bad word on the Rebellion."

"Besides, the man knows where we are and a good deal of our activities," Willard answered. "He might take revenge by telling the Empire."

"He wouldn't!" Willow exclaimed.

The rebel officer solemnly nodded. "I see…Well, perhaps there's another way to handle it. I could arm a small squad of men and-----"

"Excuse me?" Willow cut in, angry. "Isn't that what this whole Rebellion is fighting against?"

"She's right," Leia said. "Just get him his money and that's that."

The rebel wasn't happy but nodded as he went off, leaving the three to mull the situation.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"It's clear skies from here on, partners!" Han announced as he washed off his face with a towel. Chewbacca and Xander just looked at him with sour expressions on their faces. Noticing that, Han frowned. "What?"

"Don't you think you're going a bit too far here, Han?" Xander asked.

"What?" Han asked back.

"We're trying to extort cash from guys fighting for freedom, Han!" Xander snapped. "That's a bit mercenary even for us."

"Just keeping to the business, Junior," Han replied. "You'd prefer if Jabba sent those bounty hunters after us?"

Luke and Buffy chose that moment to burst in. Han's eyes narrowed as he saw them. "Are they trying to back out of the deal?"

"Oh, quit being suspicious of the whole galaxy!" Luke snapped. "I told Leia I could change your mind."

"Well, you fibbed," Han said. "This ain't my fight."

"Don't you think it will be?" Buffy pressed. "You think the way the Empire is going, they're going to let the criminal element out of the way?"

"Hey, we form part of the economy," Han stated. "If we lay low, stay out of the way…"

"Quit fooling yourself!" Buffy snapped. "They're going to squeeze you out too."

"Watch it, girlie," Han snapped back. "What are you two gonna do? Hold hands while the Empire turns this place into a big ball of vapor?"

"I…" Luke brought himself up. "Commander Willard said they needed pilots. I'm volunteering."

It was a toss-up as to who looked more shocked, Han or Leia. "What?" the pilot burst out. "Luke, did you see what I saw at the Death Star? Ships and lots of them!"

"I know but…"

"And those Imperial pilots are pros, kid! You know the life expectancy of a green pilot in combat? Less than a minute!"

"It's a minute more than what you'd give!" Luke yelled. "You and Chewie are experienced. You and the _Falcon_ could make all the difference, why can't you-----"

"Because I used my time!" Han retorted. "And more, years ago!"

A tense silence went up. "I see," Luke said.

"You only think you do," Han replied as he turned around. "This ain't my cause, kid. I'm not risking dying for it."

"Others will," Buffy pointed out. "Others have."

Han turned back. "Like the old man, right?"

"He said there was more to you than you would admit," Luke revealed.

Han snorted. "Then you're as crazy as he was. I'm raising ship and I'm taking the metals with. At least with me, it'd so some good instead of being blown to pieces."

"You can stop that!"

"I've finally made my windfall, Luke! I'm not gonna lose it."

"Oh, so you're running," Buffy sardonically said. "You're afraid and-----"

That set Han off. The Corellian stomped forward and pointed a finger at Buffy. "Afraid? Girlie, we have been through scrapes that made the Death Star look like…" He shook his head and backed off. "Forget it. Just…no reason to stick around for this."

"Not even to do the right thing?" Buffy pressed.

Han let out a humorless laugh. "The right thing…" He shook his head and when he spoke, it almost seemed melancholy. "Buffy, let me tell you about doing the right thing. A guy I knew thought he was doing the right thing when he got involved in busting up a slave operation. Hell, it _was_ the right thing. And you know what it got him? He was stripped of his rank, kicked out of the Imperial corps, his girl dumped him and the half of the planet that wasn't laughing at him wanted to stand him against a wall and shoot him. He ended up wandering the galaxy, learning the hard way that you have to put yourself first."

Buffy arched an eyebrow. "Wouldn't anyone vouch for your…friend?"

Han shrugged. "His commanding officer committed perjury against him. He only had one witness and…hell, who's gonna listen to a Wookie?"

Everyone else glanced at Chewbacca, who simply folded his arms and gave a noncommittal grunt. Luke finally shook his head and stalked off. Buffy gave Han a pointed glare before following. Xander watched them go before turning back to Han. "They're right, Han. We should stay and fight."

"Don't start, Junior," Han said as he wiped off his hands. "We're doing what we've always done. Put ourselves first. You've been going along with that since you joined up."

"That was before I knew Buffy and Willow were still alive," Xander replied.

"Oh, I see," Han snorted. "So you're gonna jump to their side? Not exactly a manly move to always go with the gals, Xander."

Xander glowered at him. "I'm on their side because they're right. You can't just keep running from this, Han."

"Watch me." Han stalked off. Chewbacca gave Xander a long look, letting him know he agreed with the young man. However, Xander knew a lifedebt overwhelmed any personal feelings the Wookie might have. He stalked after Han, leaving Xander alone to his thoughts.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You don't have to do this," Luke said as he and Buffy made their way through the hanger bay.

"I want to," Buffy replied.

"You've got less flying time than I do," Luke pointed out.

"True," Buffy admitted. "But I'm not gonna just sit here and do nothing. I'm in this fight for the long haul."

"Let's just hope the haul is pretty long," Luke said as the two walked up to a console where a man in a uniform had his back to them. "Excuse me, sir? They told me to report here."

"Sir?" The man turned, a smile creasing under his thick mustache. "Sir, he calls me!"

"Biggs!" Luke exclaimed as he saw his best friend standing before him. "I don't believe it!"

"Didn't think I'd make it, did you?" Biggs Darklighter laughed as the two hugged. He nodded toward Buffy. "Good to see you again, Bunny."

"Buffy," she corrected. "They put you in command here?"

Biggs shrugged. "We're not as tight as the Empire, so we can't be choosy with rank restrictions."

"And you're hard up for pilots," Buffy said.

"Desperate," Biggs confirmed. "You two going to try out?"

"The only experience we have is with the T-16," Luke had to say.

Biggs chuckled. "We're sending up guys with less than that, no worries. I'll have to try you two out on this simulator first." He nodded to Buffy. "Ladies first?"

Buffy smirked as she slid herself into the simulator. Biggs shut the door and began to warm the machine up. As he did, he gave Luke a smile. "So…that dream girl of yours finally walked across your path."

"Aw, come on," Luke blurted out. "She's just…"

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking like that, farmboy," Biggs gave a knowing laugh as he fired the simulator up.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The briefing room reminded Buffy of some of her old classrooms back in Sunnydale. Rows of chairs were in a U-shaped pattern facing a large screen on a small stage. Pacing before it was General Dodonna, a veteran in tan robes with a white beard and hair. The room was filled with pilots, almost all in the orange uniforms of the Rebellion. Luke and Buffy were seated in the middle of the crowd while Han, Chewbacca and Xander stood by the doorway. The screen was showing an outline of the Death Star as the man spoke.

"An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Leia have allowed us to come up with a strategy. As you can see, the battle station is heavily shielded and carries a firepower greater than half the Starfleet. Its defenses are aligned to repel a massive attack by large-scale vessels. Thus, smaller, one-man fighters should be able to penetrate its outer defenses."

A man in his thirties who was the leader of the Gold Flight section raised his hand. "Pardon me for asking, sir, but what good are snub fighters going to be against that?"

"Well, the Empire doesn't consider a small fighter to be much of a threat or they'd have a tighter defense." Dodonna nodded to the screen as a close-up of the Death Star was shown, focusing on a small trench at the center of the globe. "The approach will not be easy," he admitted as the screen showed more of the trench. "You're required to maneuver down this trench to this point." The screen showed a small hole set in the metallic wall. "The target area is only two miles wide."

A murmur of doubt went through the pilots. "It's a small thermal exhaust port right above the main port," Dodonna continued. "The shaft leads right to the Death Star's main reactor. A precise hit down this shaft will strike the reactor and set off a chain reaction that will destroy the battle station." A graphic showed a small ship firing a dot down the shaft, pulling back to show it going down the line and detonating, turning the Death Star into lines of data.

"Graphics courtesy of 1982 Atari games," Xander muttered.

"Only a precise hit will cause a chain reaction," Dodonna went on before casually adding. "Also, the shaft is ray-shielded so you'll have to use photon torpedoes."

Another loud mutter of voices went up from the pilots. One pilot next to Luke yelled out. "That shot's impossible, even for a computer!"

"It's not impossible," Luke chided. "I used to shoot womp-rats from my T-16 all the time, they're not much bigger than two meters!"

The pilot snorted. "And were there a thousand other of these womp-rats shooting at you with turbo lasers at the same time?"

"Gentlemen," Dodonna's voice cut through the chatter. "The Death Star has just entered the system and will be upon us within the hour!" That cut short any arguments. "Man your ships. And may the Force be with you."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"At least this is a better fit," Buffy remarked as she made her way through the hanger bay. She and Luke were both clad in the orange suits of pilots with helmets. Pilots were piling into their fighters as mechanics made sure they were ready. Droids were lowered into the rear of each fighter to help with mechanical problems during the flight.

"Which are you?" Luke asked.

"Apparently, my scores weren't exactly as bright as yours," Buffy was forced to admit. "They put me as the gunner for one of the two-seat Y-Wings they've got."

Luke nodded. "I'm in Red Group, one of the X-Wings."

The two paused as they saw Han and Chewbacca nearby, each stacking some crates onto a small cart. "So," Buffy sardonically noted. "Got your reward and you're going, huh?"

"Yep," Han confirmed. "Got a Hutt I need to pay back and some other debts. Reward's no good if you ain't around to spend it."

Luke just shook his head. "I still can't…"

"Save it, Luke," Buffy said. "He's made his choice."

"Yep," Han confirmed. "That's me, girl. I've got this selfish attachment to a little thing called living." He looked up to Chewbacca. "Where the hell is Xander? I want to get this stuff on board before that planet killer shows up."

"Afraid you've got to handle it on your own, Han." The four looked up to see Xander coming forward, dressed in a flight suit and with a helmet."

"The hell are you doing?" Han asked.

"I have to second that," Buffy said, also thrown at the sight of Xander in the suit.

"I guess you can say I'm putting in my notice," Xander replied as he moved to Buffy with a small grin. "Ready to fly, gunner?"

Buffy's eyes widened. "You're my pilot?" At Xander's nod, she rolled her eyes. "I knew it. You've been waiting years to get me in a confined space."

"Kid, what do you think you're doing?" Han blurted.

Xander looked at him with dead seriousness. "I told you before, Han. I'm fighting for what I believe in."

Han shook his head. "Xander, you're a rookie…"

"Who's been trained by you," Xander was quick to point out. "So, really, if I get blown away, that just shows how much you suck as a pilot."

Chewbacca let out a guwaff that earned him a Corellian glare. Han looked Xander in the eye for a long moment before turning away. "Fine, your choice. I'll miss the help but you wanna commit suicide, be my guest. We've got to raise ship."

"Take care of yourself, Han," Luke said sourly. "But then, that's what you're good at."

The three turned to walk off when Han's voice came behind them. "Kids!" They turned as he swallowed and spoke. "May the Force be with you." He turned back and picked up the loading as they started to walk off.

Willow and Leia were waiting nearby as the trio came up. Buffy noted the lack of surprise on Willow's face at seeing Xander. "You two already discussed this, huh?"

"We did," Willow answered.

"Try to talk him out of it?"

Willow giggled. "If I could fly, I'd be up there. You think I like just sitting around here waiting and watching?"

Buffy gave a slight nod to the side and Willow moved to join her. "Anything you can do to help us?" the Slayer whispered.

The witch shook her head. "Nowhere near strong enough to do anything at that distance."

"Worth a shot," Buffy replied as they moved back to the others. Leia seemed concerned as she looked them over. "Are you three sure you want to do this?"

"We are," Xander replied. "Come on, we've got as much experience as some of the guys they're sending up."

Leia still seemed doubtful. "You've done so much already. You don't have to do this too."

Buffy smirked. "Funny, being an overachiever is something I've never been accused of."

Luke faced Leia. "You need every pilot you can get up there. We've come this far, I'm going to see it through."

Leia nodded as she backed up. "Good luck. All of you."

Willow stayed longer as he moved to hug first Buffy, then Xander. "Don't either of you dare to die up there, you got me?" she whispered.

"Aw, you know me better than that," Xander replied.

"You, I do," Willow smiled as she pointed to Buffy. "It's her I worry about."

Buffy rolled her eyes as she grabbed Xander's arm and led him off. "Come on, let's go blow up a massive space station."

They headed toward their Y-Wing, Xander slipping on his helmet. "So, you ready, Goose?"

"Xander, if you even try that 'need to speed' high-five or buzzing the tower or anything else having to do with Top Gun, I will drop you."

"Philistine."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Yep, saving the big battle for the next chapter. Don't worry, got some nice twists to come story-wise, hope you all put up with it. Keep the comments coming. **


	17. Death to a Star

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Death to a Star

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy hadn't been in space before the trip on the _Millennium Falcon_ and was already having a hard time getting used to being on board a starship. Finding herself in a cramped seat with only a thin shield protecting her from open space was enough to shake even her up.

She tried to ignore it, focusing on the controls before her. The two-seat S-3 Y-Wing was a secondary version of the craft, with a longer shaped hull to fit in the extra seat. With its long twin engines framing the cockpit, it was little wonder how the craft got its name. It was heavily armored and carried with it the best shielding for a craft its size. In the hands of a capable pilot, it was capable of doing wonders.

Buffy could only hope Xander was capable.

The thirty Rebel ships were making their way around the horizon of Yavin, the vast majority X-Wings with a half-dozen Y-Wings. Xander and Buffy's was near the rear of the pack as the Death Star came into view.

Buffy tightened her fingers on the controls before her. "You sure you can do this?"

"You doubt my abilities?" Xander asked.

"Just figuring out how much help that captain of yours really was," Buffy noted.

"Good enough," Xander told her. "Just trust the Xan-man."

"I do."

"Thanks."

"Xander." At her tone, he looked over his shoulder toward her. "I do. I never said it enough before. But I do trust you and Willow more than anyone."

Xander managed a small smile. "Thanks, Buffy."

"_All wings report in_," came the gravely voice of Red Leader.

"Leave it to peanut gallery to chime in now," Buffy muttered as she sat back.

"_Red Ten standing by."_

_"Red Seven standing by."_

_"Red Three standing by," _came the voice of Biggs.

"_Red Three standing by."_

_"Red Nine standing by."_

_"Red Two standing by." _Buffy recognized the voice as the pilot Luke had argued with in the briefing room, Wedge…something.

The next voice was all too familiar. _"Red Five standing by,"_ Luke announced.

Buffy's fingers tightened as the Gold Flight pilots spoke out, with Xander chiming in "Gold Four standing by."

As the attack group moved closer, Red Leader spoke up again. _"Lock S-foils in attack position." _The X-Wings opened up to the formation that earned them their name. The ships moved in and the Y-Wing began to shake. "_We're passing through their magnetic field!"_ Red Leader announced. _"Hold tight! Switch your deflectors on! Double front!" _

As Xander adjusted the ship's balance, the Death Star came into full view. For most of the pilots, it was their first sight and they couldn't help but be awed. _"Look at the size of that thing!"_ Wedge gasped.

_"Cut the chatter, Red Two!" _Red Leader called out. _"Acclerate to attack speed!" _The fleet moved in faster, the metallic craters and towers in full view.

_"This is it, boys,"_ Red Leader softly said.

_"Red Leader, this is Gold Leader."_

_"I copy, Gold Leader."_

_"We're starting for the target shaft now."_

_"We're in position. I'm gonna cut across their axis and try to draw their fire."_

As one, the X-Wings banked and swept downward and the battle was on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The control room of the Yavin temple had been hastily assembled. A row of controllers sat at one side with headsets as they checked the screens. Several displays had been set up showing the system and the path for the pilots. Dominating the room was a large circular screen set on a raised platform in the middle of the area. A large screen showed the Death Star in relation to the planet as it began to approach.

Willow and Leia were staring intently at the screen, the princess' face tight with concern. Willow was biting her lip as she listened to the voices flowing over the speakers as the pilots zipped over the Death Star's surface.

"It appears our strategy was correct," Dodonna remarked from his place next to Leia and Willow. "The Empire was prepared for a full-scale attack by large ships, not fighters. All they have is their laser cannons but the ships are too fast for them."

"Let's hope that lasts," Willow remarked.

_"This is Red Five, I'm going in,"_ Luke's voice echoed as the sensors showed him swooping onto the Death Star's surface. A tiny flash went out on one monitor, showing where his barrage had struck the battle station's surface.

_"Luke!"_ Biggs' voice went out. _"Luke, pull up!" _Leia and Willow exchanged a look of obvious worry. _"Luke, are you all right?"_

_"I'm a little cooked, but I'm okay." _Leia bowed her head and let out a long sigh of relief.

_"Watch yourselves,"_ Red Leader's voice cut through the speakers. "_There's a lot of fire coming from the right side of that deflection tower."_

_"I'm going in," _Biggs announced. "_Cover me, Porkins."_

_"I'm right with you, Red Three,"_ came the voice of Red Six.

The scanners showed two small dots sweeping near the outline of a tower with a flash going out. _"I've got a problem here,"_ Porkins muttered with concern.

_"Eject!" _Biggs urged.

_"No, I can hold it."_

_"Pull up!"_

_"I'm all…"_ The rest of his words were lost in an explosion as his plodding X-Wing was caught by a turbolaser charge.

Willow closed her eyes and let out a hiss. "That's the first," she whispered.

"It won't be the last," Dodonna sighed as the battle continued.

"Death Star will be in range in nine minutes," a technician announced as the grey globe on the main screen inched closer.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Inside the Death Star, chaos was starting to take over. Technicians, stormtroopers and officers rushed around with no clear idea on where they were going. Several hallways had been effected by explosions given off by the X-Wings. Amidst the frantic activity, Darth Vader strode, a calm, if dark, presence in the frenzy.

An officer came out from an adjourning hallway, glancing around before seeing Vader. He quickly rushed up to speak. "We count over thirty Rebel ships, Lord Vader. But they're so small and fast, they're avoiding our turbolasers."

"We'll have to destroy them, ship to ship," Vader declared. "Get the crews to their fighters."

The officer bit his lip. "But…Governor Tarkin…"

Vader stopped and focused on the officer. "Tarkin what?"

The officer swallowed under Vader's glare. "He…gave orders to not be concerned over the attack but concentrate on reaching the planet. He feels this is a futile gesture that is no danger."

Vader ground his teeth together as he spoke. "Order the pilots to their ships now. And have my own fighter prepared." He whirled and strode toward the hanger area. That fool Tarkin would no doubt order the majority of TIE fighters locked down but at least some would be able to take the fight to the Rebels.

If not…then he would tend to it himself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The black skies were filled with the trails of green blasts that ripped through the air above the Death Star. Two more X-Wings had fallen to the cannonfire as the Y-Wings began their run. "Hang on," Xander announced as he sent the craft flying into a tight turn.

Buffy could tell what he was doing and swiveled the cannon set at the rear of the craft. As Xander swept past the turbo-laser canons, Buffy opened fire in a wide arc. Given the size of the object, it was hard to miss and fire erupted as it blasted apart. Xander quickly pulled up and gave a slight whoop of excitement.

"_Watch the fire, Gold Four,"_ Gold Leader chimed out. _"We need you all for the trench runs."_

"Got it," Xander said. "Just giving more cover fire."

_"Squadron leaders," _came the voice of a technician at the base. _"We've picked up a new batch of signals. Enemy fighters coming your way."_

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Buffy and Xander saw the familiar outline of TIE fighters sweeping past. Soon, the speakers were filled with the words of various pilots as they reacted to the attacks. Buffy winced as she heard a pilot scream just before his X-Wing was blasted apart.

As Biggs yelled about having one on his tail, Xander called into the comlink. "Gold Leader, can we help them?"

_"Negative, Gold Four,"_ the man replied. _"They're doing their job."_

There was a sigh of relief from Biggs as Luke destroyed the TIE chasing him. Seconds later, it was Biggs who warned out. _"Luke, you picked one up, watch it!"_

Buffy glanced around, trying to see where Luke was but the Y-Wings were too far off. _"I'm hit but not bad," _Luke announced. _"Artoo, see what you can do."_

_"Hold on, Luke, I'm on him," _Wedge announced.

A few seconds later, Buffy felt her heart race as she heard Luke give thanks to Wedge.

_"Gold Flight, this is Gold Leader,"_ the duo heard. "_Gold Two and Gold Five are with me. Gold Three, Four and Six, you hang back. You're the second squad just in case."_

"Roger, Gold Leader."

The Y-Wings broke into two groups, Xander and Buffy going high with the other two Y-Wings as the remaining three headed toward the trench.

_"Keep it tight," _Gold Three announced. _"We need to keep clear of the cannonfire so we can…"_

_"Gold Flight, you've got incoming!" _yelled an X-Wing pilot. His words were too late as the arcs of green laser fire suddenly ripped through the space around the Y-Wings. Gold Three barely had time to react before his ship was blasted to pieces. The other two quickly swept away as a trio of TIE fighters engaged them.

The strength of the Y-Wings, its power and shielding, was also its weakness, which meant the ship was slower and more unwieldy than the lighter X-Wings. As such, Xander had to pull the controls tightly to one side to get it to move out of the way of the incoming fire. Buffy swept the cannon into a wide arc of fire as she caught one of the TIE's. She did her best to resist the tiny burst of joy she felt as Gold Three was avenged.

"_Incoming!"_ Gold Six called out. Xander glanced ahead to see a large opening that he recognized as a docking bay. He could tell that in seconds more TIEs were going to swarm out to fill the skies and, as usual, went to his first instincts. "Hang on!" he called to Buffy as he threw the Y-Wing in a quick dive.

Buffy yelped but quickly composed herself, continuing to fire at the chasing TIE fighters. The pilots were obviously surprised at the Y-Wing had a gunner in, one managing to avoid Buffy's fire. The other, however, was caught by a glancing shot on the wing that sent it spinning away toward the surface.

"Gold Six, get clear!" Xander announced as he quickly targeted the opening doors. With a quick count of three, he pressed the buttons and unleashed a pair of torpedoes. He pulled the ship up as hard as he could as the twin balls of energy sailed into the bay. A loud explosion ripped out, flames erupting from the destroyed bay, debris flying outward.

_"Good shot but there's another opening up!"_ Gold Six called out.

"You've got one on your tail!" Xander retorted as he tried to catch up to them. "Hang on."

The TIE let a trail of green beams fire, striking the right side of Gold Six's ship. Xander and Buffy both opened fire as soon as they could, the main cannons catching the TIE dead center and turning it into a fireball.

"Gold Six, you okay?" Xander quickly said.

"_Got my right engine,"_ the pilot replied with resignation. _"I'm out of this one, kid."_

"Can you get clear?" Buffy asked.

_"Negative." _The ship started to drop lower.

"Pull up, you're getting too low!" Xander called out.

_"I know what I'm doing. I'm clearing the way for the rest of you. Good luck, Gold Four." _

For the first time, Xander saw the Y-Wing was sailing straight toward the opening docking bay and realized what he was doing. He threw their own ship to the side and up. Gold Six rode it like a rocket all the way down, waiting until he was about to enter the doors to drop his torpedoes. The resulting explosion was even greater than the one Xander had caused and secondary explosions ripped through the station.

"Thanks," Buffy whispered.

In the silence, Xander heard the voices over the communicator of Gold Five. _"Gold Five to Red Leader. Lost Tireee, lost Hutch."_

_"I copy."_

_"They came from…behind…" _The rest was lost in a loud blast and a swam of static.

There was a pause before Red Leader spoke up. _"Gold Flight, this is Red Leader. Where are you?"_

Xander hit the comlink. "This is Gold Four, Red Leader. We're about three hundred yards from your position."

_"Gold Four, where's the rest of Gold Flight?"_

Xander and Buffy exchanged a solemn glance before Xander answered. "Um, we are Gold Flight, sir."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Death Star will be in range in six minutes," the technician intoned.

The mood in the control room was tense as everyone stared at the large scanner. Less than ten blips showed the fighters as Dodonna moved forward. "Red Leader, this is Base One. Keep half of your squad back for the next run."

"_Copy, Base One,"_ Red Leader replied. _"Luke, take Wedge and Biggs, hold up here and wait for my signal. Gold Four, stay back and keep an eye from above."_

"Roger," Xander said as he banked the Y-Wing toward the trench. "Luke, you okay?"

_"I am so far,"_ Luke answered. "_It…looks like it's just us up here now_."

Xander looked around, surprised to see the skies clear. "Looks like they're saving on TIE's."

"Probably figure it'll all be academic soon," Buffy grimly noted as she listened to the three X-Wings in the trench.

_"My scope's negative,"_ Red Ten announced. _"Red Five, do you see anything?"_

_"No…Wait, coming in point five!"_

_"I see them!"_

_"I'm in range," _Red Leader announced as he took the lead. _"Beginning my attack run." _There was a pause as he raced down the trench. _"Almost there…"_

_"They just got Red Twelve!" _Red Ten yelled. _"I can't hold them!"_

_"Almost there…"_

_"They're right behind me!" _Red Ten got out just before his ship was destroyed.

_"It's away!" _Red Leader's X-Wing flew out of the trench as an explosion raced behind him. "It's a hit!" Xander yelled.

_"Negative,"_ Red Leader said with obvious disappointment. _"Negative. It didn't go in. Just impacted on the surface."_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The numbness in the control room was deadening as another failure was created. A few men on scanners kept their eyes on it enough to see a TIE fighter chasing after Red Leader.

_"Red Leader, turn to point…oh, five," _Luke called out. _"We'll cover you!"_

_"Stay there!" _the elder man replied. _"I just lost my starboard engine. The leader's flying some prototype fighter, he's a real killer. Get set up for your attack run."_

The scanner showed his X-Wing dipping lower and lower toward the surface of the Death Star. The speakers were filled with Red Leader giving a loud yell just before he hit the battle station and his marker winked off.

Willow bowed her head and whispered a prayer. Leia shook her head and closed her own eyes. "Only one chance left," she whispered.

Willow did her best to manage a small smile. "Don't worry. Last chances are what we live off of."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_"All right," _Luke announced. "_Xander, you and Buffy stay up top and keep an eye out. Biggs, Wedge, form up on me. We're going in and we're going in full throttle. That should keep the fighters off our backs."_

_"Got it," _Wedge said.

"That's pretty fast, Luke," Buffy said.

_"Gal's got a point," _Biggs agreed. _"Will we be able to pull out in time?"_

_"It'll be just like Beggar's Canyon back home,"_ Luke confidently said. The three X-Wings moved to the trench, waiting until the last minute to break downward at full speed. They were soon in the trench, avoiding the barrage of cannonfire streaking toward them. Buffy ignored their chatter, keeping her eyes open as Xander flew over the trench.

She saw them coming from the corner of her eye. Two of the TIE's were normal ones. The one in between seemed sleeker, with longer and thinner wings that seemed to give it better speed. It almost seemed that the two other TIEs were escorting the third. Before Xander could bring the Y-Wing around, the three TIEs were inside the trench and racing toward the X-Wings.

"They're on top of you!" Xander yelled. "Watch it, Wedge!"

The pilot reacted to his word, swinging his X-Wing to the side just as one of the escort TIEs fired at him. The bolt hit him near a wing. _"I'm hit!" _he called out. _"I can't stay with you!"_

_"Get clear, Wedge, you can't do anymore good back there!" _Luke shouted.

_"Sorry," _he apologized as he took his X-Wing out. He wavered a bit but was still steady as he joined Xander and Buffy.

"They're not chasing, Luke," Xander warned. "They're still sticking to you two."

_"Hurry up, Luke, they're coming in much faster this time!" _Biggs called out.

_"Gold Four, can you do something?" _Wedge asked.

"Not at the speed they're at," Xander answered.

_"Hurry, Luke…wait…wait!" _

The center TIE fighter fired and Biggs let out a short yell. Luke spared a glance in time to see his oldest friend killed in an instant. "We're a couple of shooting stars, Biggs," he whispered as he blinked back tears. "And we'll never be stopped."

Buffy reached over to grasp Xander's shoulder. "Get us down there!" she yelled.

"Even if I could make it inside the trench," Xander replied. "They're too far off! This crate isn't as fast, we couldn't make it in time!"

"Xander…"

"Buffy," he interrupted, letting her know how serious he was. "There's nothing we can do."

She slumped back, closing her eyes and biting her lip as she listened to the interplay on the comlink.

_"Luke, you've switched off your targeting computer,"_ a technician from the base said in confusion. "_What's wrong?"_

"_Nothing,"_ Luke replied. "_I'm all right."_

"Luke?" Buffy called up. "What's going on?"

_"Just…trust me."_

For some odd reason, Buffy did. She sat back, listening as Luke continued down the trench, suddenly calling out with alarm. _"I've lost Artoo!"_

_"Pilots," _a grave Dodonna announced. "_The Death Star has cleared the planet. We're in range."_

Xander and Buffy instinctively tensed, both thinking of the red-haired girl on the surface of the planet about to be ahnilliated. "Xander…" Buffy began.

A stream of orange cannon fire swept to their left, going right into the trench. Buffy and Xander both looked up instinctively to see a circular shape flying down, framed by the nearby star, on a dead run toward the trench it couldn't possibly fit into.

_"YAAA-HOO!" _screamed a voice Xander knew all too well.

"Is that-----" Buffy gasped.

"Only one guy flies a ship like that as crazy as that!" Xander laughed.

There was a flash from the trench and the unique TIE fighter went flying outward, spinning helplessly into the void. The _MIllenium Falcon _swept in a wide arc going past the Y-Wing and Wedge's ship.

_"You're all clear, kid!" _Han announced. _"Now, let's blow this thing and go home!" _

Seconds later, Luke flew out of the trench and toward the other ship. _"They're in!" _he called out. _"I saw them go in. Get clear, fast!"_

Inside the Death Star, only one technician saw the Y-Wing, two X-Wings and Corellian freighter speeding away from the battle station as fast as they could. Frowning, he turned to report to Grand Moff Tarkin, who stood watching the screens as the countdown to firing wound down…

The explosion of the Death Star was, fittingly, like a super-nova. One second the station was intact. The next, it was a loud burst of light and atoms spreading outward with a shockwave. The four ships had managed to put enough distance so the wave just shook them mildly.

_"Great shot, kid!" _Han laughed. _"That was one in a million!"_

"Oh, damn, that was awesome!" Xander said with a laugh of pure relief.

Buffy was grinning too as the ships made their way to Yavin IV. "Xander?"

"Yeah?"

"Forget what I said earlier."

"Buzz the tower?"

"As you like, Maverick." She sat back and laughed again as they headed back to their new home.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Again, some might have expected Buffy to make the big shot but that was always going to be Luke's. I did try to add a few things such as my own explanation as to why there were only a dozen or so TIE's sent after the Rebel fleet. **

**Next up is the epilogue and for those who are complaining I'm not making big changes…oh, get ready for a big one….**


	18. Celebrationsand Dark Arrivals

New Blood in a New Hope

By Michael Weyer

Celebrations…and Dark Arrivals

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy didn't even wait for the ladder to be brought up to the Y-Wing before she leaped out to the ground. She threw her helmet off and away as she raced toward the waiting X-Wing in the hanger. Xander was right behind her, a bit miffed over the fact no one had even complained about him zipping right past the lookout tower at high speed. Then again, he figured, escaping imminent death would kill any angry mood.

A large crowd was gathering, all jubilant as Luke exited his craft. Buffy thought she heard him call out some other name when he saw Leia but couldn't really make it out. She moved in, pushing past everyone to give Luke a strong hug. "How the hell did you do it?" she yelled.

He laughed as he hugged her back. "I…well, I just had an old Jedi watching over me, I guess."

"Hey, kid!" Han and Chewbacca made their way through the crowd to more cheers and embraces. Xander let out a loud laugh as he moved in to slap his captain on the back. "I knew you'd change your mind!"

"Ah, wasn't going to let you guys get all the glory and rewards, was I?" the smuggler quipped.

"I knew there was more to you than just money!" Luke proclaimed.

Han made a glowering face. "Watch it! We have reps to maintain!"

Willow moved to pull both her friends into a strong hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming back alive!" she said.

"Come on, have I ever let you down once?" Xander asked as he returned the hug. "Twice, three times, sure but once, never!"

Buffy punched him in the arm as they broke apart. They turned to see Artoo being lowered from the X-Wing. The droid's dome was a blackened mess, smoking with wires askew from the laser blast he had taken.

"Artoo! Say something!" Threepio frantically said. "Sir, you must repair him! You must!"

"We'll have the techs get to work on him right away," Leia promised.

Threepio turned to Luke. "Sir, if any of my circuits are compatible, I'll gladly donate them."

"Don't worry, Goldenrod, they'll get it done," Han said.

Xander raised an eyebrow. "That mean you're going to give back the metals?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves…" Han said as the group made their way to the main control room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Sir?"

Captain Firmus Piett stopped and turned toward the officer who had called him. He was making his way through the main bridge of the Star Destroyer _Accuser_ as it made its way through a tour of the system. The ever-solemn looking captain paced back to the communications station. "Yes, Leiutenant?"

The younger officer pointed to his screen. "We just picked a craft coming into our range, Captain. It appears to be similar to a TIE fighter but in a different configuration."

Piett frowned. "Is it alone?"

"No other ships in the vicinity, Captain."

"Any communications?"

"Not yet but…wait." He checked as a flashing message came in. "Yes, sir, we are getting a distress call over the Imperial bandwidth."

"Does the code check out?" Imperial codes were ever shifting to keep any Rebels or smugglers from pulling a ship into a trap.

The man nodded. "Decoding now, sir. It appears…" He stopped, his eyes widening and his face going pale.

"Lieutenant, what is it?" Piett impatiently asked.

The man swallowed and pointed at the screen. "The…the code signature is…SL-1."

Every man within earshot stopped what he was doing and stared with looks of awe and fear. Piett did his best to hide it, appearing calm but inside was as rocked as everyone else. Only one person in the entire Imperial fleet utilized that code.

Piett shook off his confusion to give out orders. "Helm, bring us to an intercept course. Inform the hanger to be prepared and have an honor guard standing by. I shall be down presently." He turned to march out as the ship's crew went to work.

A few minutes later, Piett marched into the hanger. A squad of stomtroopers were lined up on either side as the strange-shaped TIE fighter sat before him. Piett stopped and brought himself to attention, fighting to keep his fear in check. His eyes appraised the fighter, noting the large burn and damage to one wing as if it had been struck by something.

The lower half of the main cockpit came loose from within. The sound of mechanized breathing began to echo and then Darth Vader exited the craft, immediately striding forward as soon as his boots hit the deck, his black cape flowing behind him. Aside from a few scuffs and scrapes in the armor, he appeared to be no worst for wear. Piett swallowed and bowed his head. "Lord Vader, are you all right?"

Vader strode past him and Piett quickly turned to follow. "My Lord?" Piett asked again. "Do you require medical attention?"

"No," Vader said in a voice that left no room for doubt. "What is your current status, Captain…?"

"Piett, my Lord," he answered. "We were on a standard patrol and were preparing to rendezvous with the Death Star."

"The Death Star is no more," Vader snapped. "The Rebels managed to destroy it."

Piett was shocked but kept his stride up. "I…I see. What are your orders, Lord Vader?" He wasn't sure how to take the destruction of the Death Star. Its construction had been debated among the ranks, some feeling it was too much a waste of resources and more to flash the Empire's power. Some felt it would be good to show the military it had more power than some Sith Lord but Piett found such talk dangerously close to treason.

"Send a message to the Emperor," Vader commanded. "Tell him the Death Star was lost with all hands due to the Rebellion. Let him know I have survived and will speak to him in detail later."

"Yes, my Lord," Piett quickly said. "Is there anything else you require?"

"Is the meditation chamber ready?"

Piett nodded. As per orders, all of the latest Star Destroyers had been outfitted with a special chamber for Vader's own personal use. Some had grumbled at the waste of space but it was insisted upon. Piett could see such a move was now necessary.

"I shall be there," Vader stated. "Set a course for the Core Worlds and do not disturb me unless the circumstances are dire or if the Emperor contacts me."

"Yes, Lord Vader. I shall also have our mechanics see to your fighter at once."

Vader glanced at him, surprised at the offer. "Thank you, Captain Piett." He marched off as Piett broke away to relay the orders. Inwardly, he was shaken by the news of the Death Star's destruction, as he knew the rest of the military would be. Up to now, the Rebellion had been considered little more than an irritant but if they were capable of taking out the most powerful weapon/battle station ever created…Then the rules of war were changing in a way Piett did not find comforting.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The morning had dawned beautifully on Yavin IV. The night before had been one of celebration with mourning for the pilots lost in the attack. Yet the joy of survival and the mighty blow the Rebellion had struck had offset the pain, making their sacrifice worthwhile.

Han had almost thrown a fit when it was made clear that liquor was as sparse to the Rebellion as money was. Buffy was grateful for it, knowing the last thing she needed was to have Xander and Willow needling her for "Cavegirl Buffy" again. The whole night was something of a blur before sleep while the morning promised something new.

"Will you relax, Han?" Luke said. "You're pacing too much."

"Me and Chewie aren't big on this ceremonial stuff," Han argued. He was dressed in, for him, nice clothes, a clean shirt, crisper jacket and a better pair of pants. Luke wore dark pants and shirt with a yellow jacket he'd borrowed. Xander was wearing a set of blue pants, light tan shirt and a navy blue vest of the same style.

"They're giving us medals, Han," Xander said. "They're not lining us up to shoot us."

"Still not happy with it," Han argued. He glanced at Chewbacca. "No wonder you turned the medals down."

Chewbacca shrugged and growled a few words.

"Yeah, yeah, honor, lifedebt, Wookies not into decorations and all that," Han answered. "You just didn't want to put up with this show."

Luke sighed. "Well, I admit I feel kinda the same way. I still can't believe I'm being honored for this."

Han's face grew serious. "I'm sorry about Biggs and the rest. They deserve the medals, not us."

"They died for something they believed in," Luke said.

"Just what made you turn around, Han?" Xander asked to change the subject.

"Ah, the Wook got emotional about it." Chewbacca grunted at that.

"Come on, Han…" Xander pressed.

"All right, all right," the smuggler said. "Some of the stuff you guys said…well, it got to me." He looked to Xander. "Sides, you did help me and Chewie out the last few months. It didn't seem right to just let you march to your death without helping out."

"A good thing you came when you did," Luke said. "Those TIEs had me cold."

"I couldn't nail the leader in the prototype," Han admitted. "He was good. But, hey, I gotta know…how the hell did you make that shot without the computer. And don't give me that 'Force' garbage!"

Luke was chuckling when Buffy entered the small room. "Okay, we set?"

She saw them all looking at her and rolled her eyes. "Damn, owe Willow ten credits." She was wearing a lovely blue dress that offset her curves quite well. Her blond hair had been done up in a slight bun with a small tail hanging off it. While she had argued, Willow had insisted she also wear a small ring of pearls around her neck. She crossed her arms as she glared at Xander. "Not. A. Word."

Xander let out a whistle that Han echoed. "You clean up good, girl," the smuggler said.

"Don't make me hurt you, Solo," Buffy threatened as she carefully walked forward in the heels she now wore. "I was fine with a pair of jeans and a jacket but Willow insisted I get into the ceremony of it all."

"Ah, beauty is a curse to bear," Xander remarked lightly.

Buffy looked to Luke, who was staring at her open-mouthed. She leaned in and physically pushed his jaw shut. The young man shook his head. "Sorry, it's just…never seen you like this before."

"Good," Buffy snapped.

"Come on, Buffy," Xander said. "You look better than you did at Prom or Homecoming."

"Yeah and remember how those turned out?" Xander shut his mouth at that.

The large stone doors before them began to slowly open. "Showtime, kids," Han announced as they quickly gathered together. Luke and Buffy found themselves in the lead with the three smugglers behind. Together, they stepped through the doors and into the central chamber.

The throne room of the Temple was a massive hall that reminded Buffy of photos she'd seen of the great abbeys of Europe. The sunlight shone through the large openings at the far end. It was so huge that almost the entire personnel of the Rebel base were able to fit in, standing in long rows to frame the aisle.

The five walked down the aisle, heading toward the central platform. Han and Chewie glanced around to see the rows and rows of soldiers who watched them with grateful pride.

At the platform, Leia stood, more beautiful than ever in a long white gown with a diamond necklace, her hair in a tight bun atop her head with a ringlet. Next to her, Willow was clad in a brand new red gown, her hair pulled back and beaming at her friends. Nearby was See-Threepio, his plating now polished to a shine and Luke and Buffy both felt joy at seeing Artoo-Detoo rolling up beside him, fully repaired and also polished.

"Gentlemen…and lady," Leia announced as they stopped before her. "On behalf of the Rebel Alliance and the free people of the galaxy, accept these medals of bravery." She reached to take on from Dodonna and looped it around Xander's neck. She took the other as Han bowed his head. "Still couldn't come up with any cash, huh?" he whispered.

"I will strangle you," Leia hissed, her smile still in place. "Buffy?"

The Slayer bowed her head and felt the medal slipped on. She looked to where Willow beamed. "She deserves one too," she told the Princess.

"She turned it down," Leia said. "She felt you deserved it more."

Xander and Buffy glanced at each other and nodded. They reached up to remove their medals as Leia sighed. "Wait." She glanced over to Willow who nodded and reached into her dress to pull out the medal she had. "Told ya," the redhead whispered with a smirk.

"She's cleaning up on bets today," Xander whispered to Buffy as Luke bowed to accept his own medal. The group turned to face the audience, who erupted in applause and cheers. At Buffy's wave, Willow made her way to join her friends.

"There's still a lot to do," Han pointed out to them over the din. "Empire got a black eye but it'll come back for more."

"Good," Luke said. "I'm going to fight as long as it takes."

"I'm with you on that," Buffy replied.

"Three of us against an army of evil," Xander noted. "Ah, so nice to see things back to normal."

"Or ab-normal as the case may be," Willow said.

"Will you all be quiet and enjoy your moment?" Leia whispered. "We have time for more worry later. For now…you're heroes. Take a moment to accept it."

Amidst the sun-filled throne room and the cheers of their fellow freedom fighters, the Slayer, the Wicca and the Hacker decided to follow her advice.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

In the dimness of the meditation chamber, Darth Vader angrily brooded. The loss of the Death Star wasn't concerning him. Tarkin had been in charge from its construction to its defense and any flaws in its design and the failure to repulse the Rebel attack were on his shoulders. He was sure the Emperor would feel the same way and thus did not fear any reprisal.

But it still rankled him that this pack of Rebels had humbled the Empire so badly. This would be a huge blow when news reached the rest of the planets of the Death Star's destruction. It would show that the Rebellion was much stronger than most had believed and gain them more support from other worlds. It would also weaken the Empire's standing, especially among the financial arms. And then of course, there was the loss of so many officers and equipment.

The Rebels would pay a severe price for this, Vader vowed. And none more than that pilot who had made the fatal shot. Somehow, Vader knew this was the young man who had followed Obi-Wan. After the smuggling ship's escape, Vader had studied all security tapes for signs of the former Jedi's companions. A motley group indeed but his attention was drawn to the blond-haired man and woman who seemed close together. The girl…something about her was unique, especially when one of her friends referred to her as "Slayer." But the boy….something about that boy who was so strong in the Force made Vader decide that finding him was his first priority.

A beeping sound echoed and his eyes opened behind his mask. He remained cross-legged on the floor, his cape at a table nearby. There was only the central dais and one table, no bed or other furnishings. It was sparse to the extreme, just as Vader preferred it. While he could have activated the mechanics to remove his mask for a brief time, he preferred it on as he balanced his thoughts.

"Enter." The door opened and Piett carefully walked in, bowing his head. "What is it, Captain?" Vader rumbled.

"Lord Vader," the captain carefully said. "We have a…situation I believe you would wish to know of."

"What situation, Captain?"

Piett licked his lips. "It is…I believe, my Lord, it would be better to show you than to tell you."

Vader was intrigued. Something in Piett's manner indicated fear, but not of Vader, which was quite rare. "Is it that important, Captain?"

Piett nodded. "I would not disturb you otherwise, my Lord."

Vader paused before rising to his feet. At a wave, his cape floated to his shoulders and attached himself as he strode forward. Piett bowed his head before accompying Vader down the hallways, careful to keep a few steps behind.

"About an hour ago," Piett began. "We detected a strange shift in pressure in one of the cargo holds. I dispatched a technical crew and when they did not report back, I sent a small squad of stormtroopers in and they found…the intruder."

"Intruder?" Vader was instantly alert. "A Rebel?"

"I am not certain as of yet, My Lord," Piett admitted. "In truth, we are not quite sure what he is. He does not match any known species although some of the DNA traces do match to human. But there are some…oddities."

Vader stopped and turned to face him. "Captain, do not mince words. What did this intruder do?"

Piett swallowed and replied. "He killed both members of our tech crew and two stormtroopers before we could finally subdue him, my Lord."

"He was armed?"

"Actually, my Lord, one of our men had his neck snapped. Another was apparently thrown across the bay into a pillar and the last two had their throats ripped out. They're still cleaning the bay."

Vader turned to continue his walk as Piett followed. "Is he alive?"

Piett sighed. "That is one of the reasons I wished to inform you of this, Lord Vader. You see, according to our medical scans, the man should be dead. He has no pulse, no heartbeat, his body temperature is nowhere near warm enough for a human and scans show little cellular activity that is consistent with aging."

"Yet he is alive enough to kill several men," Vader noted.

"Exactly, my Lord," Piett said. "Not only that, but he also seemed little effected by a pair of blaster bolts he took. His strength and speed are greater than a normal human's should be. It took four stun blasts to finally subdue him enough to be taken to the brig. I have a full stromtrooper squad on guard inside and outside the cells and doubled patrols nearby."

Vader glanced at Piett, impressed. Most officers he met were either disdainful of him due to his Sith beliefs, fawning and giving him false humility to curry his favor or completely incompetent. Piett was something different. He was obviously intimidated by Vader but did his best to hide it and, unlike many, was not afraid to speak his mind or admit mistakes. He was a good soldier who believed in the might of the military but was loyal to the Emperor to the core. Vader made a note that when construction was completed on that special Destroyer, he would recommend Piett for its captain. It would be good to have a competent officer on hand for a change.

Vader entered the prison area, the troopers on guard snapping to attention. Piett keyed the code on the pad and the door to the cells opened. Vader saw more stormtroopers on high alert, facing a nearby cell, the force field glimmering. It was dim inside so he could only just make out the rear of the figure standing in the corner. He could see the man's face was almost feral, ridges on his forehead and nose. He glanced up at Vader with eyes that seemed to flash and when he spoke, Vader saw the points of razor-sharp canines in his mouth.

"So….you must be the head honcho around here." His voice had an odd accent Vader could not place. But that was throwing him less than the fact that this man gave out the more pure evil he had ever felt outside the Emperor. It was as if there was a gaping hole where his inner Force should have been, nothing but pure malevolent darkness. Whatever this man was…the Dark Side was obviously with him.

"I am Darth Vader," the Sith Lord stated. "Who are you and how did you get on this ship?"

"Ship?" the stranger asked. "Huh. Doesn't feel like we're floating." He rubbed a shoulder where Vader could see a scorch upon his skin. "Or am I right in guessing this isn't Earth?"

"I have not heard of…Earth," Vader said. He turned to Piett. "You said he was injured."

Piett nodded. "He was, my Lord. However, it appears he has an amazing rate of healing. Our doctor would have studied it more but the…patient broke his restraints and attempted to throttle him."

"I don't like being poked and prodded," the stranger snapped. "Listen, you're obviously the guy in charge. How about you let me out of here now, let me go my way and in return, I won't feel the need to rip your head off later, kay?"

Vader narrowed his eyes. "You think much of yourself."

The stranger laughed. "Yeah, I guess I do. But I can back it up. Let me out and I'd show you, black mask."

Vader glared at him. "I demand to know who you are."

"And I demand to know who does your tailoring cause I am dying to get those boots!"

Vader threw out his hand, his wrist clenching. The figure stiffened, reaching to his throat. Then, to Vader's surprise, he laughed. "Oh, cute trick. Sorry, pal but kinda hard to do a magic choke hold on a guy who doesn't need to breathe."

Vader's eyes narrowed and he turned his hand slightly. The intruder yelped as he was lifted into the air and slammed against the wall. Vader made a motion with his other hand to shut off the force field and moved forward. Ignoring Piett's cry, Vader ignited his lightsaber and held it before the man pinned to the wall.

"Tell me," Vader hissed in a voice that sent a tremor down every spine present. "Would your physical abilities be able to grow you new limbs?" From the silence of the man, Vader guessed the answer was no. "Then you shall tell me your name and your mission here."

"Mission?" the man barked. "Listen, Doctor Doom, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing here. I'm enjoying some newly won freedom, ready to go on a massacre run and some big flash of light hits me and I'm dropping into some bay. I have no idea who you are or where I am and I don't much care either."

"Then I see no use for talking to you." Vader slammed him against the wall as he turned back. "Captain, stun him and then tell the science department they may use his body for study. Concentrate on his abilities to regenerate and if they can be copied."

"Oh, great," the stranger grimaced as he rose. "I'm finally free of that damn Slayer and now I've fallen in with…."

"Slayer?" Vader stopped in place. "You said…Slayer?"

"Yeah, so?" the man asked as he rose to his feet.

Vader slowly faced him. "Would this Slayer be a blonde-haired human of roughly twenty years of age?"

The man stared and made a twisted smile. "Hmmm…small but packs a wallop, big mouth, good looking in a naughty school-girl way?" At Vader's nod, he let out a long laugh. "She's alive and she's here…Oh man, someone down there must like me!"

"You know of this Slayer," Vader intoned.

"Oh, yeah." The smile vanished from the man's head. "We go back a ways. I know her inside and out." The smile returned. "In every way."

Vader stared at him for a long moment. "Perhaps…I may have use for you after all. Perhaps the Emperor might feel it is time for the Sith to grow."

"Sith?" the stranger asked. "What is that?"

"You shall learn," Vader stated ominously. "Captain Piett!"

"Yes, my Lord?" Piett started, enthralled by the strange conversation.

Vader's gaze never left the stranger. "Inform the medical staff we shall require a collar."

"Yes, my Lord," Piett bowed.

"Collar?" the man raised an eyebrow. "Oooh, you're a kinky one, aren't you?"

Vader glared at him. "It is armed with a small explosive charge that will be detonated either by remote or if you attempt to flee. I shall put on a special command to activate it if you attempt to attack any more of my troops."

The stranger was thrown. "Hey, wait a…"

"Until I can bring you before the Emperor," Vader intoned. "Argue and I will have you ejected and while you may not need to breathe, I suspect your body could not handle the elements of space."

"Space?" The stranger was confused. "Don't suppose we can negotiate this?"

Vader crossed his arms. "You will comply or you will be executed and this 'Slayer' you speak of will be allowed to go free."

The intruder answered his glare with a slow nod. "Fine." Her eyes narrowed. "But don't press me, buddy or I'll rip that fancy flashlight of yours away and shove it up your armored ass, got me?"

Vader had a brief flash of a young, headstrong Padawan long ago only without any trappings of morality. "We understand each other. Now…as to your name."

"I've had a few over the years, most unfit for polite company," the man answered as he carefully walked forward. "But if I had to pick out my fave…"

He stepped forward and his features changed. The ridges vanished, as did his fangs, his eyes returning to a normal color. He was handsome, his short black hair well-combed, fitting with his black shirt, pants and long coat. His lips seemed turned into a permanent smirk as he finished his introduction.

"You can call me Angelus."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**If you read that last bit and the first thing that went through your mind was the Imperial March…then I've done my job.**

**So this closes out A New Hope. Debating whether to jump right to Empire Strikes Back, pick up with Slayers of the Old Republic (which, btw, is based on the best Star Wars game EVER and worth a look) or do some "side stories" to pick up threads that will be shown more in Empire.**

**I do plan for some interesting characterizations with Empire with a few faces for romance with both Xander and Willow as well as the deepening of Luke and Buffy. I want to thank everyone for the great comments that have helped the story out and hope to do more to keep you enjoying it. **

**Thanks and hope to have more soon. **


End file.
